Through Shadow Eyes
by Lord Fawkes Garde
Summary: The really really long story about Mithos and his partners 4000 years before Tales of Symphonia during the Great Kharlan War. A project I've been working on for the official ToS forums. Massive Spoilers for those who haven't beaten the game.
1. The Birth of Chaos

Through Shadow Eyes :: The Tragedy of a Fallen Dawn  
Draft 1.5

Notes: I don't own Tales of Symphonia nor any of the random references in my story.

Took 2 very very long months but I finally got this thing done. This is my take on the Mithos saga. I would like to thank Cyllya and MorwenLaicoriel on the forums for helping me with this.

Prologue

"Prepare for launch," a stern voice commanded over the carrier's intercom. Descending through a thick layer of clouds, two airships which bore a resemblance to giant whales appeared over a serene forest. As the "mouths" of the giant whales opened wide, it seemed like a beehive had just awakened. Inside the dark launching hangar, busy mechanics and pilots prepared row upon row of fighter aircraft to take off. Each of these sleek shaped, open-air Rheairds held a pair of cannons on the wings.  
  
"Hey, you ready for this, Sora?" a pilot said, mounting his Rheaird ship. He had on thick fur flying gear and a pair of goggles attached to his helmet. A breathing device covered his mouth, which made it easier to fly at high altitudes.  
  
"Sigmund, I've been ready since the war reached my town," a female pilot replied.  
  
"All of you are the best we have, show them no mercy," a man in a white uniform said. He had short cut blonde hair and a rapier at his side; also there was a monocle over his right eye. "What we are about to do could turn the tide on this endless war."  
  
"Aye aye, Lord Cornelius," all the pilots cried in a united shout.  
  
Like a swarm of hornets leaving their nest, the Rheairds hovered to magnetic launch catapults and instantly sped out. One after another shot out of their mothership and moved into "V-formation" over the forests.  
  
"May the gods forgive us for what we are about to do," Cornelius whispered as he watched his men charge forward into battle.  
  
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A thousand years ago, the world of Aselia entered an age in which magitechnology, the fusion of magic and science, reigned supreme. Magitechnology extended the lifespan of an average human threefold and filled the skies with marvelous flying machines. While the humans and dwarves developed advance science, the elves researched magic on incredible levels. At the peak of this age, two great nations were formed. On the western continent was Macerdon, the kingdom of pureblood elves and humans. On the eastern continent stood the empire of Delthis, founded by the half-elf Desians with the cooperation of dwarves. Though tensions between the two nations had existed for over two hundred years, a single incident triggered the start of a devastating conflict lasting a millennium. Macerdon attacked a Desian village, seeking to apprehend a terrorist organization known as Enigma's Ghosts. Seeing the attack as a declaration of war, Delthis countered by sending its Rheaird fighters on a raid into the Macerdonian capital, Meltokio. Thus the Eternal War began, one which dragged on for so long that many forgot how it ever started.

Through Shadow Eyes

Chapter 1 :: Birth of Chaos

"Ready, master?" a young boy of 14 asked. He had on a white tunic and a thin flax vest. The boy's glistening gold hair grew in thick clumps down to his shoulders. Drawing his double-edged sword, the youth rushed at his master with the spirit of a tiger. An elven weapon, his blade shined in the sunlight with the brilliance of Mithril, a metal that glowed when danger lurked close by.  
  
"As always, Mithos," his mentor said. While Mithos was a half elf, his teacher Kratos was a human who had mastered the art of swordplay. Kratos' dark brown hair hung over his face and covered his right eye. He wore light titanium armor and steel leg guards over his dark garments.  
  
"Divine Storm Blade!" Mithos called.  
  
"Divine Storm Blade!" Kratos countered.  
  
Both mentor and apprentice dashed at each other over the wooden platforms suspended over the swamp near Ymir Forest. Because the pureblood elves forbade half-elves from entering the forest, the swamp provided an isolated place where they could train uninterrupted. Blades clashed together as the two crossed swords. In a split second, they exchanged positions.  
  
"Well done, Mithos, you almost got me," Kratos said. Mithos looked to find a drop of blood on his hand. Kratos had given him a small scratch on his face with the Dragon's Tear, a light sword that boasted immense precision. "That should do it for today. You should probably get back to your house. Martel will be returning from the temple soon."  
  
"All right, master. See you tomorrow," Mithos said, with a smile on his face. Kratos' eyes narrowed and he glanced around silently.  
  
"Get down, Mithos!" Kratos yelled. A streak of light descended from the sky and destroyed a nearby bridge over the swamp. The roar of Deathcarriers, aircraft that served as motherships for Rheairds, resonated throughout the peaceful wetland.  
  
"They're headed for..." Mithos said.  
  
"Heimdall. Probably an attempt by Delthis Desians to destroy the last elven sanctuary in their land," Kratos said. More beams came from the sky and tore into the forest.  
  
"Can't we do anything?" Mithos asked. Before Kratos could answer a beam darted into the bridge they stood on and sent Mithos plunging into the murky water.  
  
Above, the two Deathcarriers commanded by Lord Cornelius launched all their Rheairds in an assault on the hamlet of Heimdall. Within a few moments of the attack, the elves showed that they protected their village well. Macerdonian airships, smaller than Deathcarriers but faster and more maneuverable, emerged from their hiding spot in the clouds. The two sides duked it out over the forest, raining flaming shrapnel into the treetops.  
  
"Mithos, up!" Kratos urged. Struggling to climb out of the water, Mithos grabbed onto Kratos' hand and got pulled onto the platform, soaking wet. Suddenly, a shadow swept across the swamp floor. The tops of trees snapped as one of the Deathcarriers fell with flames licking its armor. Pieces of the airship tore apart when it came down, igniting parts of the forest into small infernos. Finally, the carrier crashed into the ground and exploded in a towering fireball.  
  
"You all right, master?" Mithos said. Both of them had taken shelter behind a tough oak.  
  
"I'm fine. We should be thankful that trees are more resilient than we are," Kratos remarked. "Let's get out of this marsh."  
  
Although the raid damaged most of the bridges over the marsh, they waded through until they reached the western edge of the woods a short distance from the crash site.  
  
"And just where do you think you are going with that half-elf, human?" someone said from the left side. Four pikemen that escaped from the airship stood in ambush.  
  
"Master, we needn't get ourselves involved in this war," Mithos insisted.  
  
"We have no choice here, as they seem intent on killing me," Kratos replied coldly. The Delthis Desian soldiers lunged forward together with their spears pointed forward. Kratos unsheathed his sword first, entering a duel with the leader. Mithos soon joined him in combat, following Kratos carefully and trying to imitate his master as best as he could.  
  
"Razor's Edge," Mithos called, attacking an enemy with a pair of thrusts to the arms. The relatively weak attack made his opponent drop the heavy pike. Mithos sidestepped around him and dropped a heavy blow onto the enemy's head.  
  
"Waterfall Blade!" Kratos' more powerful attack manifested itself in a strike to the head with the face of the sword. The shock knocked out the leader and left two soldiers remaining. "Mithos, Dragon's Encircle."  
  
"Divine Storm Blade!"  
  
"Divine Storm Blade!"  
  
"Dragon's Encircle!"  
  
Standing back-to-back, Mithos and Kratos sprinted in opposite directions on a circular path around the remaining foes. As they drew near, both slashed their blades at the same instant and dealt a blow similar to being grasped in a dragon's claw. When they came out of their unison attack, Mithos and Kratos switched places, just like in training. Their foes both received a devastating concussion that left them on the swamp floor out cold.  
  
"One more battle, one more victory. Good work, Mithos," Kratos complimented.  
  
"Thanks," Mithos said. He looked down at the leader of the soldiers and found package resting near him. On it was the words: ANGELUS ALPHA. Curious, he unwrapped it and found a red crystal amulet on a necklace chain. "What could this be, a magic charm?"  
  
Like before, Kratos didn't have any time to respond before more beams thundered from the sky. Mithos took the crystal and both fled the scene in the direction of the Misty Cliffs. This time, Macerdon's Rheairds swooped down over the downed Deathcarrier to ensure they finished it. Like ravenous vultures circling over a fallen beast, the Rheairds flew over the forest, watching for any signs of life in the vessel.  
  
"We have to get to the monastery to make sure my sister's not hurt," said Mithos.  
  
"I shall accompany you," Kratos replied. The Misty Cliffs separated the Ymir region from the Misty Plains. Years of war had turned the plains from a rural countryside into a barren wasteland. The cliffs themselves were colossuses of red stone. In the times before magitechnology, traders that traveled the cliffs carved paths into the rock. At the apex of the cliffs rested Luna's Sanctuary, a temple where priests and clerics of the light spirit honed their magic skills and studied old texts.  
  
Mithos took the lead while Kratos coolly walked behind his pupil. Once the worn path wound its way up above the forest, they caught a brief glimpse of the last moments of the battle. The Macerdonian airships were wolves tearing apart a fierce bison, the second Deathcarrier. Columns of black smoke rose from the heart of the airship, and then it finally gave way.  
  
"Do you hear that, master?" Mithos asked. His keen ears picked up a soft humming noise from the sky. WHOOSH! A stray Rheaird from the fallen Deathcarrier slammed into the side of the mountain as it ran out of fuel. The explosion broke apart a section of the cliff above them, starting a rockslide. Kratos tried to grab onto Mithos, but a rock slammed Mithos and sent him tumbling off the cliff. _Is this the end? No, I still have my sister to find. There's got to be some way out of this!_ Mithos thought. As he thought these words, Mithos felt warmth on his back. _Great... I'm falling so fast that I'm burning up in the air. Wait, that's strange; I should have hit the ground by now._ Mithos found himself levitating beyond the cliff, carried by a pair of rainbow colored translucent wings. "Look, master! I can fly!" Mithos called excitedly. He did a barrel roll in the air and touched down like a feather beside Kratos.  
  
"This must be from that red gem we found," Kratos surmised.  
  
"Aww. Come on, master. Your student learns he can fly and all you can say is 'this must be from the red gem we found'?" Mithos said.  
  
"Come. If we are to get to the monastery, it isn't too far from here," Kratos answered, ignoring Mithos' comment. Late in the afternoon, they crossed the wooden bridge stretched over a deep gorge in the cliffs to the footsteps of Luna's Sanctuary. The monastery was a single floor oak building with a large onion dome at the top of a pagoda like roof. Over the door, the words "Sol tal Luna" were carved over the heavy bronze door.  
  
"Nobody's here," Mithos observed. Under normal circumstances, plenty of clerics would be outside doing their work. Mithos took the large knocking mallet and banged two loud clangs on the door.


	2. Cursed Misty Plains

Chapter 2 :: Cursed Misty Plains

From the inside, a voice said, "If you are soldiers, we want nothing of your war."  
  
"It's me! Mithos!" he replied. The door creaked open, but only enough so the two could step inside. Once the two entered, a priest inside immediately closed the door. "I've always hated the smell of this place," Mithos whispered to Kratos. The damp interiors were moldy since no windows allowed sunlight inside. Oil lamps lit the vast chamber where the clerics and priests were hiding.  
  
"So... five thousand years ago, the great hero Zephos Silvir vanquished Dark Lord Eshera, thus saving Aselia," a priest said to himself. Reading by the light of a lamp, he carefully studied a story of times long past.  
  
"Whoa!" Mithos suddenly said, as he tripped over a vase and fell head first into a bookshelf. The dark interior was unfamiliar to someone who had spent much of his life outdoors. Even in Delthis where half-elves were free to live as they pleased, the Eternal War had driven many from their homes. Mithos and his sister were lucky to live in such an isolated region.  
  
"Kratos, why are you and Mithos here?" a priestess asked. She had long emerald green hair and a fair complexion. Two preserved oak leaves were clipped to both sides of her hair. The priestess's garments consisted of a gray robe with a flower print cloak over it.  
  
"Martel, long time no see," Kratos said.  
  
"Is Mithos all right? What happened?" inquired Martel who suddenly had a concerned look on her face. Mithos got up from burying his head in the books he had fallen in to.  
  
"Sister! The Desians launched an attack on Heimdall. We were in the marsh training when they came from the sky," Mithos narrated.  
  
"We are fine. Mithos insisted on seeing if you were, however," Kratos said.  
  
"We're all safe here, for now. The wasteland region isn't secure for us anymore for us. Even our own nation, Delthis, wants to turn our land into a battlefield," Martel said.  
  
"Well, what can you expect from a nation trying to keep an enemy nearly twice as large at bay?" Kratos said.  
  
"Martel, I have a task for you," the head priest said. He handed Martel a sealed letter stamped with the crest of Luna. "Make for Asgard and deliver our message of peace. We have to let them know that we aren't willing to participate in their war." Martel nodded, accepting the mission.  
  
"I'll come with you, Martel. If there are any monsters out there, I'll protect you," Mithos offered.  
  
"Do you really think that will accomplish anything? War is a terrible thing, but the desire to keep fighting can't be easily dissuaded by words. However, I will come with you to make sure my Mithos doesn't do anything rash," Kratos said.  
  
"The road through the wasteland is unsafe at night. We should set out tomorrow morning," Martel advised. That night the only thing for dinner was a simple stew of water, bread, and garden vegetables that Martel made. In better days, Martel tended the monastery's garden and nurtured the crops that everyone there ate. A surprisingly calm night passed over the monastery and dawn came without incident.  
  
"Time to wake, Mithos," Kratos said. Tightly tucked into his blanket, Mithos groaned and strained his eyes open. The front door, now open, let the first rays of the rising sun in. Martel, who had awakened much earlier, had prepared preserved fruit and meat for them to eat on their trek.  
  
"From here we cross the Misty Plains and head north to Asgard," Martel pointed out.  
  
"Great... from Misty Cliffs to Misty Plains," commented Mithos with a sigh. Once they reached the bottom of the cliffs following the old traders' paths, they looked upon the barren wasteland that was the Misty Plains. An eternal blanket of dense fog covered the fields, making travel difficult even in bright daylight.  
  
"Shall we proceed?" Kratos asked, striking a match and putting it to his torch. Martel's shooting staff provided light from the tip and penetrated the fog for a short distance to the front and around them. Within minutes of crossing into the plains, the cliffs behind them vanished into the fog. White sheets of mist surrounded them in every direction.  
  
The magnetic compass that Mithos carried in his pocket pointed them north, but that was one of the few things reliable in the plains. Every few meters, travelers from long ago had erected wooden poles with red sheets on them that pointed them along a path. Around noon, Mithos' ears picked up something shuffling in the distance, as if someone were running.  
  
"Is that a hut?" Martel asked. She peered into the north where the mist enshrouded the black outline of a small hut. A small fire burned at the base of the abode. As they drew near, the saw that it was an entire village hidden in the fog. Sprinting from behind a hut, a messenger in rags approached the travelers. The other inhabitants were equally poorly dressed and their homes were in much disarray.  
  
"Leave immediately! This place isn't safe for you," he warned, breathing heavily.  
  
"How come?" Mithos asked.  
  
"A dragon from the lake to the west comes each year and razes our village. This year it is late," the messenger said.  
  
"Let's go. Your message will never reach Asgard if we sit around waiting for a dragon to have us for lunch," Kratos said.  
  
"Wait, we can help these people. Their lives are terrible as it stands and our indifference will only serve to worsen their plight," Martel insisted.  
  
"Kratos, you said you've fought a hydra all by yourself before. It can't be that much more difficult with the two of us," said Mithos.  
  
"One day, I'm going to regret following everything you two say," Kratos said reluctantly. The three walked briskly to the lake the villagers spoke of, vast and filled with murky water. Strangely, no mist covered the surface of the lake.  
  
"Caw! Caw!" came the voice of a blackbird, fleeing the scene when they arrived. Bubbles rose from the depths of the lake as two grotesque horns appeared, attached to the head of a towering silver-scaled dragon. The dragon spread its broad bat like wings, looking down upon the three as if they were mere rodents.  
  
"I think we're going to need a bigger party," Martel said. 


	3. Solstice, the White Dragon

Chapter 3 :: Solstice, the White Dragon

"Your kind has come to ruin this land again," the dragon said deeply. When it breathed, clouds of mist came from its nostrils. "Humans, elves, half-elves. They all have no respect for the natural world anymore."  
  
"Dragon, not all of us may respect nature, but we can't go about eradicating everything we don't like," Martel said.  
  
"And you are willing to do battle to protect those you barely know?" the dragon inquired.  
  
"Yes," Mithos answered.  
  
"So be it, destroyers of the land. You shall see what it means to face a White Dragon, a child of the gods," it said.  
  
"Don't worry, Martel. I can handle him," Mithos confidently proclaimed. He held his crimson gem and called up his wings.  
  
"Mithos, no!" Kratos yelled. Mithos took flight and drew the Starsword.  
  
"Prism Sword!" Mithos thrusted his blade upward and let out a blast of rainbow light. The brilliant radiance engulfed the dragon as Mithos prepared to fly in for the last strike.  
  
"Tiamat Strike," the dragon called, diving down from the light without a scratch. It seized Mithos with its claws and landed on the ground, tossing him aside shortly afterward.  
  
"Divine Storm Blade!" Kratos tried his signature lightning fast sword attack, but the dragon batted him off with his left wing to the shore of the lake.  
  
"What are you waiting for?" Mithos asked when the dragon had not finished him off.  
  
"I sense... no darkness," it replied. The entire body of the beast turned into light and changed into the shape of an aged man with a long ash gray beard. "Solstice is my name. I am a dragon sent from our citadel of Exire to guard the natural world."  
  
"So what was it that made you spare us?" Martel inquired.  
  
"To selflessly fight for people you have only just met is a noble act. We dragons respect that. While we were supposed to protect the land, we were also taught to respect life. Perhaps, that is something that I could learn from you," Solstice explained.  
  
"The mist is being dispelled," Kratos noted.  
  
"Yes, that was the curse I placed on this place. However, travel will not be made much easier as it will take years for the clouds to clear."  
  
Relieved to see the sky once more, the party returned to the village with Solstice. To be safe, they disguised him as an old man they had met on the way to slaying the dragon.  
  
"I do not really enjoy this," Solstice said when Martel put a cloak on his back and pulled the hood over his hair. Out of nowhere, they heard a buzzing noise of a descending airship.  
  
"It's one of those smaller airships we saw yesterday, but this time there's more of them," Mithos said. Around a hundred of Macerdon's airships flew above them, headed directly for the capital at Asgard.  
  
"If we had not delayed, we might have been able to warn the capital that an attack was coming," Kratos said.  
  
"It can't be helped. Anyway, we didn't even know about these airships until now. I don't regret saving this village," replied Martel.  
  
"Let's hurry to Asgard. We may still make it before the attack starts," Mithos suggested. All of them ran in the direction of the airships, north to Asgard.  
  
"Draco sectara siralas!" Solstice called. His body turned to light and he returned to his full dragon form. He lowered one wing, creating a ramp. "Mount me."  
  
With Mithos first, Martel second, and Kratos in the back, Solstice flapped his wings and sped off at blinding speed. They stayed low to the ground so the airships above would not see them.  
  
"How fast are we going?" Mithos yelled.  
  
"Twice sonic speed," Solstice replied.  
  
"Incredible!" Martel said, though none of them could hear her.  
  
"Look ahead! Is that smoke?" Mithos asked. Thick black clouds rose from the mountainside gorge where the city of Asgard rested. Asgard, as the capital of the Delthis Empire, was more of a fortress city than a political capital. Embedded between two wedges of mountainside, the only entrance came from the Misty Plains to the south. A deep ravine created a chasm in which defenders of the city could hold out for months. Finally, a series of walls and trenches protected the path into the city on the southern side. 


	4. The Seige of Asgard

Chapter 4 :: The Seige of Asgard

"We're too late. The siege of Asgard has begun," Kratos said. From the air, Macerdon's airships rained fire on the city, burning everything indiscriminately. They glided smoothly over a column of soldiers waiting to charge the city gates. As they arrived in the center of the city, they witnessed firsthand the atrocity of war. A lone Rheaird flew over and did a loop before diving for an old chapel nearby. The beam from the aircraft struck the wooden building, turning it into a blazing inferno.  
  
"Help!" a man yelled from within the burning building. Solstice had just landed and let his passengers off before returning to his old man form.  
  
"There are people in there!" Mithos exclaimed. Without thinking, he called up his wings and made for the chapel.  
  
"Just one second, kid," Kratos said, grabbing Mithos' collar.  
  
"This building was used as a shelter. There are still a few people left inside," the man hollered.  
  
"And just how do you suggest we survive plunging into a firestorm?" Kratos asked.  
  
"I'll help. Siralas darnel hydros! Aqua Edge!" Solstice called. He held both hands out and sent a burst of water inside. "Siralas darnel hydros! Aqua Edge!" A second blast streamed inside, dousing some of the flames. "That should make it easier."  
  
"Martel, you stay here and get ready to help the injured," Kratos instructed. "Let's go, Mithos. Use your Divine Storm technique to dance through the flames."  
  
Though Solstice had quelled the anger of the fire with his spell, the flames inside raged intensely. Mithos, the lighter one and using his wings to his advantage, shot left and right with the sprinting skill employed in the Divine Storm Blade.  
  
"There's one over here," Mithos called through the thick smoke that nearly blinded him.  
  
"And here," Kratos called back. In the end, they only saved five people, while the others inside perished.  
  
"At the very least, they won't have to endure this Eternal War any longer," one survivor said. An elderly woman they rescued comforted two children that had just lost their family. Meanwhile, Martel used all her healing abilities to mend the burns they had received.  
  
"Hikaral sirr lifa, deset! Nurse!" Martel chanted. A soft white light fell upon their wounds, bringing relief to their pain.  
  
"I... Even with the sword skills, I wasn't able to save them," Mithos said, clenching his fists.  
  
"Mithos, if there is one thing you must realize about this world, it is that we cannot save everyone," Kratos said.  
  
"Kratos, we mustn't stay long. I sense something creeping in the shadows," Solstice said.  
  
"How observant," a serpentine voice said. Standing atop an adjacent building was a black-cloaked woman with pale skin and crimson hair. Scythe in hand, she glared down at the group of people with glowing eyes. All around them, soldiers in black cloaks and armed with scythes appeared.  
  
"We are Enigma's Ghosts, and I am their leader, Alice Enigma!" the woman said, diving for Mithos.  
  
"What do you want? Can't you see that we're trying to save these people?" Mithos said angrily, sidestepping Alice as she landed.  
  
"We have come for that red crystal that you possess. It will consume your soul," Alice said.  
  
"Martel and I will help the survivors; you handle the shadows," Solstice advised.  
  
"Understood," Kratos replied.  
  
"Arthos!" Alice commanded in the Elven tongue. On cue, her soldiers tossed back their cloaks, revealing they were half-elves. They rushed for Mithos also, ignoring Kratos entirely.  
  
"Dragon's Ascension!" Kratos called out, lifting one of the flunkies with the face of his blade and batting him to the ground.  
  
"Prism Sword!" Mithos tried his light blast attack, aiming it directly into Alice's face.  
  
"A futile effort," Alice said. With a single hand, she had projected a barrier to shield her from the spell.  
  
"Gosh, does that thing ever work?"  
  
"I can sense your anger towards me. You are willing to give yourself up to save these people," Alice said. "In that case I will finish you all off now. Eterna kural! Sword of Anubis!"  
  
"Lady Alice, the walls have been breached!" a soldier reported.  
  
"I'm aware. Inform my apprentice that we are on the way back."  
  
Alice held out her free hand and formed a massive sword of dark energy. She turned and slashed it not at Mithos but at the sky. The wave of darkness streaked skyward until it crashed into a Macerdon airship that was preparing to bombard them. Split in half, the airship exploded high above the ground.  
  
"If you wish to end this war, seek out the summon spirits that power the weapons of both sides," Alice told them. "Asgard has fallen, but the conflict is far from over."  
  
An airship appeared above them, emerging from an invisibility shield. The custom transport of the Enigma's Ghosts, it was shaped like an oversized bird and powered by four jet engines in the rear.  
  
"Wait, just whose side are you on?" Mithos demanded.  
  
"I am on nobody's side because nobody will side with us," she replied with a grin before climbing onto the rope ladder from the airship.  
  
"Miss Enigma, we have a message for the Delthis leadership," Martel called out, fumbling through her belongings to the letter they had been sent to deliver.  
  
"I assure you that the sanctuary will not be harmed," Alice replied. "Get out of here while you can. Macerdon's Black Phoenix Knights are merciless when it comes to attacking our kind."  
  
"We must heed her advice and follow suit," Solstice said, turning into a dragon once again.  
  
"What about the survivors? They'll be killed by the invading army," Martel asked.  
  
"I can carry them, but only so far. We can tell them to head to the village in the mist," Solstice replied. His dragon form stood a few meters higher than he usually was since he was exerting his strength to the fullest. Solstice's scales made the perfect places for everyone to hang onto. Lowering his wing, he nodded for them to hurry on. Mithos climbed on first and Martel and Kratos followed. The refugees from Asgard then got aboard. Almost immediately, Solstice leaped and sped south for the Misty Plains.   
  
At the gates of the city, a swarm of Macerdon's soldiers smashed through the wall and flooded the streets with a tide of warriors. With Delthis' capital taken, the Desian Empire now stood surrounded by foes to the north, south, and across the ocean.  
  
"From here, go south and follow the flags. You'll eventually reach a village where you can hide in safety. The mist may be lighter, but it will linger for a long time," Martel told the refugees.  
  
"Thank you. Let the gods protect you on your journey."  
  
Because the day was getting late, the travelers made camp on the plains. Although night fell, the flames burning in Asgard shone like a beacon near the horizon.  
  
"It's hard to believe that such a heavily defended city could fall so easily," Kratos noted.  
  
"I've been thinking about what that Alice woman said," Solstice said. "The summon spirits regulate the flow of mana from the land of Derris-Kharlan to the rest of the world."  
  
"Derris-Kharlan was sealed off at the start of the war, right?" Mithos said.  
  
"Yes, both sides agreed to place a magical barrier around it so the source of all life would remain," explained Martel.  
  
"Or so they could both tear each other apart with full strength," Kratos theorized. "Neither side is willing to concede one iota of their fighting power."  
  
"We should head for the Balacruf Mausoleum then," Solstice said. "While the Rheairds of both sides and Delthis' Deathcarriers are powered by lightning element energy from Volt, Macerdon's smaller airships are powered by Sylph's crystallized mana."  
  
"Balacruf... wasn't that the civilization that vanished in ancient times," started Mithos.  
  
"Fifty thousand years before this war began and long before men and elves grasped the notion of magic. The Balacruf were a race of people with wings not unlike yours with their capital where Asgard stands now. We dragons witnessed the terrors of an ancient wind monster tear them apart. In the end, they used all their energies to seal it away beneath the temple but perished in doing so. Their final legacy is the burial temple to the east of Asgard," narrated Solstice.  
  
"Food's ready," Martel said with a smile on her face. Though all the destruction, the battles, and the death, her smile was the only bright thing they laid eyes upon all day. Martel dished out bowls of soup to everyone, the same kind served at the temple.  
  
"I'm going to bed now. Good night everyone," said Mithos. He entered their makeshift tent and easily fell asleep.  
  
"Is it really wise for you to be bringing such a young child along?" Solstice asked.  
  
"Mithos may be young, but he has the will to finish this journey," Martel said.  
  
"I fear that he may see more death in this sojourn than any child deserves to in a lifetime," said Solstice.  
  
"However, we will be there to guide him," Kratos replied. 


	5. An Ancient Temple

Chapter 5 :: An Ancient Temple

-----------------------------------------------------  
  
_Come to me, Mithos.  
  
_"Who... who are you?" Mithos asked. He stood in his dream surrounded by a vast array of shining lights. A silhouetted figure stood at the edge of his vision, distorted by the glowing lights.  
  
_I am an empty shadow...a lost soul...  
  
_-----------------------------------------------------  
  
"Mithos, up!" Kratos shouted, lifting the youth by his hand right out of his sleeping bag. The sun was well over the horizon, though covered by a blanket of clouds, and his companions had already finished breakfast.   
  
"Here, Mithos," Martel said, giving him a slice of bread. Still weary, Mithos only nodded before he saw that Solstice had transformed to his dragon form. With the other three onboard, Solstice soared into the morning sky. They glided east to a valley with the ancient Balacruf dynasty burial chambers. A Mayan style temple as tall as the peaks themselves stood between two mountain ranges. Its stone terraces showed years of wear from war and weather alike. By the time they arrived, a light drizzle came down from the overcast heavens.  
  
"Our first time in an ancient ruin," Mithos remarked. Though a door of stone sealed the entrance, Solstice placed his hand on a pedestal in the front.  
  
"Gods of the wind, hear my call. Open your gates to those who protect light," Solstice said. The slab immediately retracted, opening up a deep inner chamber. "Beware. Though the ancient ones passed from here long ago, they still guard their dead from would be thieves."  
  
"And that means no touching anything, Mithos," Kratos said.  
  
"Yes, master," Mithos replied. Martel's shooting staff provided the light for them while they were inside the dark corridors. Every few feet, spider webs obstructed their way, though the spinners were strangely absent. As they passed down one hallway, Kratos grabbed Mithos' collar. A pair of venom tipped spikes shot from the tile he was about to step on. "Thanks, master."  
  
They climbed a spiral staircase to the second floor of the mausoleum, discovering a burial chamber with seven coffins arranged neatly in a circular formation. Once everyone was inside however, massive stone walls sealed the passage behind them and the doorway ahead.  
  
"Why do I sense a battle coming?" commented Mithos.  
  
"Here they come!" Solstice warned. The lids on the caskets opened and seven skeleton soldiers rose from their sleep. Enchanted by magic, these swordsmen guarded the temple from those who sought to pillage its treasures.  
  
"Divine Storm Blade!" Mithos yelled, slashing through a foe with his Starsword. "What the heck?!" Though his attack severed the skeleton in half by the spine, the undead monster reassembled itself.  
  
"It's times like these I wish I had the undead banishing Azure Dragon Flame Potion with me," Martel said. She tried her best by firing light bursts from the tip of her shooting staff. He blasts stunned the enemy but failed to inflict any damage.  
  
"You can't possibly reassemble when I do this! Diviner!" Kratos stood back a few feet before lunging forward. Not allowing the enemy to counterattack, Kratos stabbed, retracted, and stabbed again all within the blink of an eye. Each time he attacked, Kratos selected a new position, thus creating the illusion that he attacked every single point simultaneously. The skeleton came out of the attack dazed, but Kratos had given him a more fatal blow. The magic charm on his neck shattered, rendering the foe nothing but a pile of dried bones. "Aim for the crystals."  
  
"Firas insirr terra... Firebird Strike!" Solstice held his hand forward and send a bird shaped flame apparition into the nearest skeleton. Struck by intense heat from the fire, the charm around the skeleton melted and it too fell defeated.  
  
"Two down, five to go," Mithos said, giving one opponent a swift stab through it magic amulet. "Four to go."  
  
To the rear of the room, Martel struggled to fight off a pair of skeleton soldiers. Her shooting staff, though lightweight, proved to be an effective tool to block sword swipes. SHOOM! A blast of white light shot from the end of her rod and into the gem around one foe. The other one, however, retaliated with a slash to her arm. Martel fell wounded, grasping her bleeding injury.  
  
"Divine Storm Blade!" Kratos dispatched that skeleton with his signature move.  
  
"Martel, are you all right?" Mithos asked. Martel winced from the pain, but nodded.  
  
"I'll tend to Martel, but you have to deal with the others," Solstice instructed.  
  
"Divine Storm Blade!"   
  
"Dragon Ascension!"  
  
"Divine Dragon Ascension!" Kratos and Mithos said together. Kratos lifted the duo of surviving skeletons by ramming one into the other and leaping to the ceiling. When he slammed them into the ground, Mithos finished the unison strike with a Divine Storm Blade that severed both charms simultaneously.  
  
"How is she, Solstice?" Mithos inquired, nervously.  
  
"She shall be fine. I gave her some Water of Life potion she had with her," Solstice answered. He bandaged Martel's arm and helped her back to her feet. "You shouldn't move that for a while."  
  
One of the defeated skeletons left a blue crystal, which served as a key to the mausoleum's chambers. They proceeded down another corridor and into a room where five windmills stood. Fortunately, the crystal they acquired allowed them to pass through up a final flight of stairs to the very top of the temple. The rain had turned from a drizzle to a downpour outside, so all of them got soaked when they came to the mausoleum's top level.  
  
"So is someone going to greet us or what?" Mithos asked.  
  
"I would assume that the Sylphs are waiting somewhere," Kratos answered.  
  
"Solstice, it's been a while," a high-pitched voice said. Three beings with wings on their backs materialized before them. The leader, a sylph with four bird wings, held a sword almost too big for her to carry. Two younger ones followed her, a butterfly winged sylph armed with a bow and a petal winged spirit who carried a gargantuan shield. 


	6. Trial of Ferocious Winds

Chapter 6 :: Trial of Ferocious Winds

Note: Yes, there is a Pokemon reference in here.

-----------------------------

"We have come this far to seek a pact with you," Solstice said. "My friends are Mithos, Kratos, and Martel."  
  
"Then you can call me Sephie, Mithos," the oldest Sylph said.  
  
"As in Sephie-Roth?" Mithos joked.  
  
"That joke's been done to death already," Yutis, the second oldest said.  
  
"Then shall we form a pact?" Solstice asked.  
  
"With Mithos," Fairess, the youngest, answered.  
  
"Me? What have I got that the others don't? Solstice would be a much better choice to make a pact with," Mithos said.  
  
"Spirits select their summoners. Summoners don't select spirits, Mithos. If Sylph has chosen, you then they must deem you worthy," explained Solstice.  
  
"First we'll see if you can handle our fierce wind power," Yutis said.  
  
"Martel, you stay back. Your injury is not something to be taken lightly," Kratos advised.  
  
"Ready or not, here we come!" Fairess called. The Sylphs had the advantage of free flight while the adventurers were confined to the sufficiently wide roof of the temple. Try as he might, as soon as Mithos swung his sword, his target just flew away. Remembering his crystal, Mithos called up his angel wings.  
  
"Go, go, go!" Yutis said, shooting a barrage of three arrows down at them.  
  
"Air Thrust!" Fairess sent a tornado their way, ripping the floor around them to limit their movement.  
  
"We must focus on attacking one at a time. The youngest one seems to be the weakest," Kratos said. He braved the fierce winds that multiplied the force of the rain falling around them in preparation for a Divine Storm Blade attack.  
  
"Prism Sword!" Mithos called. After failing twice before, his blast of light landed a direct hit on Fairess, blowing her off the platform stunned.  
  
"I hope you forgive me for doing this. Frosta sirr sectara... Ice Tornado!" Solstice launched a freezing cold whirlwind of ice that intentionally spun in the opposite direction as Fairess' lingering Air Thrust. As the two spells collided, Solstice's spell neutralized the other one.  
  
"Tri-charge!" Catching Yutis by surprise, Kratos leaped out of Solstice's ice spell and instantly hammered her with three Divine Storm Blades executed one after another. With Yutis felled, Mithos engaged one on one with Sephie.  
  
"Heh, you're pretty good," Mithos remarked, parrying two slashes of Sephie's huge sword. He was still amazed that such a small spirit could carry such a large weapon. Sephie flew back to the other side of the tower, hoping to evade Mithos' Starsword. _Hope this works..._"Divine Storm Blade!" Quickly gliding across the wet stone roof, Mithos closed the distance between himself and Sephie.  
  
"Too slow," Sephie taunted, dodging aside.  
  
"Prism Sword," called Mithos. At point blank range, he unleashed the full fury of his light attack. Sephie staggered from the blow then landed on the floor, drained of all her energy.  
  
"We acknowledge your strength," Sephie said, leaning on her giant sword.  
  
"Yeah, you're really strong," Yutis commented.  
  
"Now, Mithos. To summon us, you must make a vow," Fairess told him.  
  
"What kind of a vow?" Mithos said, slightly confused.  
  
"State your reason for wanting their power," Solstice instructed.  
  
"All right, then. In order to bring an end to this war and bring peace to this world so nobody will ever have to suffer anymore, I ask for your power," Mithos said.  
  
"Then it is yours," Sephie replied. The three of them turned into an emerald light and flowed into a pedestal in the center of the platform they stood on. There, an opal ring lifted itself and fitted onto Mithos' finger.  
  
"Great job, Mithos," Martel complimented. Throughout the battle she had watched from the relative safety of the stairs.  
  
"A question, Solstice. It seems that you and Sylph close friends; was that the reason you were able to open the door?" Kratos said.  
  
"Friends, not really. Our kind prays to Sylph so that we may continue to have wings to fly with. Each century, I come here to offer my prayers," Solstice related.  
  
"In any case, let's get out of here and find a place to dry off our clothes," Mithos suggested.  
  
"Now, that's something I have to agree with," Kratos said. Using the blue crystal, they returned back through the mausoleum to the bottom floor and out the front. Upon exiting, the entrance promptly sealed itself off. The rain had lessened to a drizzle again, but it did not help that all their clothing remained soaking wet.  
  
"No doubt by now the war will have made a turn for the worse on Macerdon's side," Solstice said.  
  
"Why can't we just disable the spirits that control one side's technology and let the other side win?" asked Mithos.  
  
"Because that will only condemn us to a much worse fate. Even if we let Delthis win, they will proceed to slaughter every human and elf en masse. The same is true for us half elves if we allow Macerdon to emerge victorious," Martel said.  
  
"Raven!" a voice said. A black beam of Shadow element magic arced over the terrace of the temple. Immediately seeing it, Kratos raised his sword and took the brunt of the attack.  
  
"Why, oh why, is everyone trying to kill us?" Mithos complained.  
  
"Look on the bright side, at least we're getting popular," Martel remarked.  
  
"Prepare for calamity!" a very familiar voice said. Alice stood on top of a tree branch, scythe ready. Her hood hid her glowing eyes.  
  
"Double the insanity," a second half elf continued. He had on a black cloak like Alice, but he lacked the pale skin of his master. This man had long blue hair with a lock hanging out in front and another tied behind him.  
  
"To protect half elves from destruction!"  
  
"To strike down those in our path without hesitation."  
  
"To curse the darknesses of hate and war."  
  
"To place ourselves skyward, we soar."  
  
"Alice."  
  
"Yuan."  
  
"Enigma's Ghosts take flight at Mach 8."  
  
"Give up now, or a beating you shall take."  
  
"Indeed." 


	7. Alice and Yuan

Chapter 7 :: Alice and Yuan

"I don't know if they just made fools of themselves or if they were being serious," Solstice said.  
  
"Really, Lady Enigma. We need a better theme song," Yuan, the younger one said.  
  
"It matters not. This time, that crystal is ours," Alice said. Twelve soldiers of the Enigma's Ghosts surrounded them. "Fearful Raven."  
  
"I am a better match for that sorceress than all of you," Solstice said. Alice's more powerful dark magic overshadowed the attack that Yuan used tenfold. On hitting Martel, Kratos, and Mithos, it pinned them to the ground.  
  
"Mithos... try summoning Sylph," Martel urged.  
  
"I call upon the guardians of the heavens! Come Sylph..." Mithos said, before passing out.  
  
"Eclipse!" Yuan called, creating a shield around him.  
  
"Solar Eclipse!" Alice shouted, opening a portal to the abyss and casting the Sylph summon within.  
  
"Thanks for distracting them, Mithos," Solstice said. In the moment the two had focused their attention on defending against Sylph, Solstice changed into his most powerful dragon form.  
  
"A dragon, how amusing," Alice said. "Yuan, take care of them. Your skills are not developed enough for this kind of beast."  
  
"Horus' Windstorm!" Solstice flapped his wings to create a powerful torrent of wind, smashing into Alice. She planted her scythe into the ground and held firm as the gale blew past her.  
  
"Shadow's Terror!" Alice held one hand out to Solstice, and a black magic seal appeared on it. Like a fisherman whipping a rod back, Alice instantly retracted her hand as a light streamed from Solstice's body into her hand. Solstice fell out of his dragon form to join the others. Alice held a shimmering turquoise crystal in her hand, the essence that allowed Solstice to become a dragon. The airship of the Enigma's Ghosts appeared from its invisibility spell and took on the prisoners. "Argh. I would have died back there had it not been for their condition after the Sylph battle."  
---------------------------------------------------------  
  
_Mithos...you have grown strong...  
  
_"You again?" Mithos said, irritated that he had fallen into a dream state. The shadowy figure from before now possessed a pair of red glowing eyes. "Tell me. What's your name?"  
  
_Erebus, a trapped soul from the darkness. As you grow strong, so too does the crystal. You must never forget that...  
  
_---------------------------------------------------------  
  
"It's no good," Mithos heard Solstice say while he had his eyes closed. He awakened to find himself in a prison cell with Kratos and Solstice. However, they saw no trace of Martel.  
  
"Where's Martel?" Mithos asked.  
  
"Yuan took her. Something about tending her injuries," Solstice replied. "Don't worry, I think she'll be safe."  
  
"Any progress, Solstice?" Kratos said.  
  
"None. That witch Alice must have stolen my dragon's essence. In my current state, I am trapped as an old man," explained he. The door opened and Yuan entered, flanked by two soldiers.  
  
"Follow me, all of you," Yuan instructed. This building appeared to be some kind of military base, filled with all sorts of gadgets. While he opened the door to the cell, the others with him stood ready in case any of them tried a jailbreak. They went down a few hallways until they got to a circular room with a large window. Embedded in the floor was a levitating cube shaped machine. Miles and miles of desert stretched as far as the eye could see from the base. "As you now know, any escape into the Triet Desert would be suicide. Within Fortress Enigma, we have a device known as an air conditioner that shields us from the blazing sun in the day and the chilling cold at night." He pointed to the strange machine in the floor.  
  
They came to the end of the room where a few soldiers were playing cards. Upon seeing Yuan, all of them stood up at attention.  
  
"Lord Yuan! We didn't know you were here," a soldier said hastily. Yuan grinned, then took a look at the soldier's cards.  
  
"You shouldn't play so conservatively. Take some risks," he said, cutting the soldier off.  
  
"You won't reprimand him?" Kratos asked.  
  
"Of course not. Our soldiers work long shifts, mainly doing nothing but waiting around bored to tears. Lady Enigma may not agree, but they need to relax once in a while," he answered. Yuan showed them to a room deep within the base protected by two red robed guards, Alice's best soldiers. They opened the door to let the group into the base's control room. On the wall hung a large painting depicting the city of Asgard before the war started.  
  
"Oh, Mithos. They've brought you," Martel said. Her arm was still bandaged but she was sitting at a table just finishing her meal.  
  
"Martel, you're okay!" Mithos exclaimed, running up and giving his sister a hug.  
  
"I'm fine. Yuan had one of his doctors heal me," Martel replied.  
  
"Enjoying yourselves?" Alice said, entering from her study next door. Around her neck was the crystal she acquired from Solstice.  
  
"You might be wondering why we haven't taken Cornelius's crystal from you yet," Yuan said.  
  
"Cornelius's crystal? Is that where this thing came from?" Mithos asked.  
  
"I am also wondering what your relation to Delthis' main Desian armies are," Kratos inquired.  
  
"One question at a time. We weren't able to remove the crystal that Admiral Cornelius created. If any of us attempted to touch it, we would be burned by some kind of powerful light," Yuan explained.  
  
"Not even my shadow magic could shield us from your crystal's power," Alice said.  
  
"Secondly, we are a faction within Delthis. Officially, we are under Lord Kepler's command, but he has pretty much given us free reign to do as we please. Macerdon has portrayed us as terrorists in their propaganda, but in truth, we are a network of guerillas working to end this war," Yuan said. "The fall of Asgard and the loss of Macerdon's air power has relieved much of the pressure on us. However, we are still losing the fight. As we speak..."  
  
"Lady Enigma! Fortress tal sol avia deri Lord Altair arthos," a voice said over the intercom.  
  
"Yuan, get them below," Alice ordered sternly. She accompanied them to the circular room but turned down another corridor. The soldiers that were playing cards now stood at facing the door with their muskets ready as if they expected someone to barge in. 


	8. Trial of Scorching Flames

Chapter 8 :: Trial of Scorching Flames

Notes: Really really long chapter here.

---------------------------------------

"This is probably the best place for us to stay," Yuan said, showing them back to their cells, but instead of locking the cell doors, he sealed the room with an Eclipse spell. "We have enough food stored in this basement level for a week."  
  
"What's going on outside?" Mithos asked.  
  
"A siege, I would assume," Kratos answered.   
  
"You are correct. The soldier on the intercom said 'Altair is coming from the east to the fortress.' Yuan, you forget that the Elvish language you use is also the one of the ancient dragons," Solstice said.  
  
"Yuan, aren't you going to join Alice?" asked Martel.  
  
"Lord Altair's Macerdonian Paladins are the best in the army of humans. If they find you here they will most likely kill everyone but Kratos," Yuan said. "I have specific instructions from Alice not to let the crystal fall into their hands... and to keep you safe."  
  
"Darn it, there's too many of them," Alice muttered from the wall around the fortress. Though Enigma's Ghosts were notorious for getting away in sticky situations, they built the fortress in the middle of the desert without any terrain protection. Altair had surrounded them with siege cannons and a phalanx of soldiers. "Why is it that we Desians are always on the receiving end of a siege?"  
  
They spent the remainder of the day in the fortress basement as artillery rumbled in the floor above. At sunset, Yuan lowered the Eclipse barrier to check on the situation above. Though the walls held, Alice and her soldiers began to get exhausted. Her shadow magic had dispatched the first wave, but Altair planned to begin another attack when the cool desert night provided better opportunities.  
  
"Even if we attempt an escape, Altair has us surrounded from all sides," Yuan said, returning to the basement and sealing it off. Dawn came and passed and still no word from the outside. At late afternoon, they heard a loud crash from above.  
  
"Altair has likely entered the fortress," Kratos said. Instantly, a projection showing a battle scarred Alice appeared in the corner of the room while Mithos and the others ate supper.  
  
"Yuan, I have secured a means for them to escape. Go now to the hangar," Alice said.  
"All right, we're going to have to take a few risks here," Yuan told them. He dispelled the shield and motioned for them to follow. The interior of the base was totally dark, as the seige damaged the mana reactor powering the fortress. Panels had come loose from the walls and the other sliding doors within the facility remained ajar.  
  
"Remember, Mithos. Walk silently and secretly," Kratos said. They took the path down the same corridor they had used before. Suddenly, Yuan pulled Martel back behind a collapsed column. The others followed suit, hearing footsteps approaching.  
  
"My lord, no sign of the half-elves and the human we sighted," they heard a soldier say.   
  
"It matters not. I have received instructions from our liege to return to the homeland. We have managed to put a huge dent into the Desians' power to resist conquest," a superior said. They passed down the hallway; however, the travelers remained unnoticed.  
  
"Hangar's this way," Yuan pointed out. Using his dark magic, he blew open the door to the hangar which had been obstructed by falling debris.  
  
"What is this thing?" Mithos asked.  
  
"A hover transport that they abandoned while they penetrated the wall," Alice said, waiting for them on the ramp that led onto a floating vehicle that looked more like a hovering fishing boat than anything to be used on land.  
  
"Alice, you're badly hurt," said Martel. She rushed over and cast a soft light on her wounds.  
  
"Thank you," Alice said. A paladin's sword slashed her from behind during the battle for the fortress.  
  
"Once you are aboard, head for the abandoned city of Triet in the Magma Mountain Range. The spirit of fire, Efreet, sleeps there," Yuan said. "As for us, we will try to hold out until help arrives from Lord Kepler."  
  
"Go now, and may the stars always guide you," Alice said.  
  
"We have to go, now!" Kratos said, jumping into the craft's back seat while Solstice, familiar with magitechnology, took the front. Martel and Mithos remained on the "deck" of the hovercraft. Silently gliding over the sands, they slipped around Altair's lines and past their elephant-like siege cannons.  
  
"This is just like Asgard. We're running away from the battle while everyone else fights and dies," Mithos said. Altair's siege cannons gave a resounding volley into the base before passing over the horizon.  
  
"Mithos, in the end, they fight because they believe we can make a difference in this world. We can't betray their trust by going back to them," Martel replied.  
  
"I wish we didn't have to see any of this war," said Mithos solemnly. Their hovercraft skimmed past countless sand dunes until they arrived at the city of Triet, embedded in the mountains. The dwarves that had allied themselves with the Desians once built war machines here. Scaffolding suspended a half-finished and badly rusted Deathcarrier attached to the mountainside.  
  
Left to weather for many generations, the entrance to the once splendid city became not nothing but a ruin. Similar to the slab of stone guarding Balacruf's burial chambers, a heavy stone door sealed off the city of Triet.  
  
"How are we going to break through this one?" Mithos asked.  
  
"I lack the dragon essence, so I can no longer command it to open," Solstice said.  
  
"Over here," Kratos hollered from a distant part of the ruins. Buried beneath the sand was a piece of stone that had come loose. As he lifted it, a burst of hot air shot from the small hole.  
  
"The fires below must still be active," suggested Martel.  
  
"I can protect us with a barrier spell, but it will only hold for a few hours," said Solstice. Raising his right hand, he chanted a series of magic words as a blue magic circle appeared under him. "Frosta hydros defreas! Ice Barrier!"  
  
"Whoa!" Mithos said, taken by surprise. A chilly bubble descended onto all of them and vanished, though the coolness remained.  
  
"Shall we? Our time is limited," Kratos urged. Lighted by Martel's staff, they dropped into a tunnel inside the abandoned city. As they went deeper, they soon found out that Martel was indeed correct.  
  
"Look at those furnaces. There must be hundreds of them," Mithos said when they entered the colossal manufacturing cavern. Blast furnaces were eerily left active as if they had been left alone only yesterday. Crude iron hooks held giant vats of molten mithril over assembly lines, dripping golden liquid from the places where they leaked.  
  
Martel approached a stash of what appeared to be nothing but scrap metal. Instead she found an old broken open sphere with a shining red crystal inside.  
  
"What on Aselia could this thing have been used for?" Martel asked inquisitively. She bent down to have a closer look.  
  
"It's an elemental fusion bomb. During the first days of the Eternal War, Delthis dropped three of these and wiped out most of the northern continent of Flanoir. You had best not touch it," Solstice explained. Just to be safe, he carefully removed the crystal and cast it into a pool of liquid mithril.  
  
"So how do you know so much about the conflict, Solstice?" said Mithos. Solstice gave a sign and stared at the center of the cavern.  
  
"We tried to stop the war from starting and sent envoys to both nations. They looked at us as outsiders seeking to interfere with their politics. In the end, our flying city, hidden in the clouds became the only part of the planet that spared by the terrors of warfare," Solstice related.  
  
In another chamber they found over four dozen newly crafted Rheaird fighters, relics waiting to serve their purpose but left behind by a world that could not wait to continue fighting. At last they arrived at the final room where the spirit of fire, Efreet slept. In a cavern with a single skylight to the surface, the light that shone through was one of a setting sun, bidding farewell to a land scorched by battle.  
  
"You who disturb my sleep, why do you come here?" a loud voice boomed. Taking the form of a legendary genie, Efreet emerged in a cloud of black smoke from his seal in the floor. His muscular ruby arms and the two massive horns on his head proved that he was the exact opposite of the cute Sylphs they met earlier.  
  
"We seek a pact with you," Mithos said.  
  
"This time, Mithos. I'll fight alongside you," Martel promised.  
  
"Many have tried, but only a few have succeeded. We shall see if you can endure the flames of world's volcanoes!" Efreet proudly proclaimed. "I will burn you to ashes!"  
  
Instantly, the ground beneath them broke apart as Efreet summoned the earth's fires into flaming geysers of lava.  
  
"Mithos, use your speed to avoid his flames," Kratos advised. The two swordsmen dashed ahead while Solstice stood by Martel and sent bursts of ice-cold water into Efreet's lava attacks.  
  
"You underestimate my firepower," Efreet said, picking Kratos up with one hand while calling a torrent of lava from beneath to strike him. Solstice's barrier prevented him from being burned to a crisp, but Kratos was definitely out of the fight. Efreet tossed him aside before turning to Mithos.  
  
"Master!" Mithos called out.  
  
"Don't go near him. Efreet will burn you up faster than you can even blink," Solstice told Martel, who was about to rush over to Kratos and heal him.  
  
"Eruption!" Efreet yelled, flexing his arms. As the ground crumbled beneath him, Mithos called his wings and leaped clear of the exploding vortex.  
  
"Starsword magic, activate! Star Glacier!" Mithos countered. Close to his foe, Mithos' sword turned into a blade of ice, emitting a cool aura. On slashing Efreet with it, part of Efreet hardened into stone, draining him of his fire magic temporarily. Taking advantage of the lull in his attacks, Martel rushed over to mend Kratos' wounds.  
  
"Here you go, Healing Circle!" she said, holding her staff over him. A blue light surrounded the two of them, bringing Kratos back from the brink of death.  
  
"I shall call on the fire's power one last time. Vesuvius!"  
  
"One last time? What's he mean by that?" Mithos wondered. Then, he realized that the sun had fallen and the temperatures in the desert would be bone chilling soon. A massive fissure, bigger than any Efreet summoned before split the chamber into two as a wave of lava ascended to cut off the adventurers from the fire spirit. Mithos, with a cunning look in his eyes, sprinted for the fissure.  
  
"Mithos, are you crazy?" Kratos yelled.  
  
"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing!" Mithos said, gliding over the crevice with his wings.  
  
"Solstice, help him," Martel insisted.  
  
"Understood," Solstice replied. "Frostal desara hydros! Spread!"  
  
Unlike the standard Spread spell, Solstice sent a burst of water from his side that acted as bridge over the fissure. When the lava hit, it was delayed for a under a second, but enough so that Mithos made it to the other side.  
  
"Star Glacier!" Mithos yelled, coming down like a hammer on Efreet and giving him two devastating blows with the ice sword. Facing annihilation, Efreet dispelled all his fire attacks and backed away.  
  
"I yield," Efreet said as a chilling wind from the desert night blew inside. "Speak the vow which binds me to you."  
  
"I vow to use your power to end this chaotic fighting and make a better world for all of us to live in," Mithos proclaimed.  
  
"My power is yours. Use it wisely," Efreet said, turning into a red light, which flew into a garnet stone. The stone embedded itself into Mithos' Starsword.  
  
"That was close, Mithos, but how did you know you could make it over?" Martel asked.  
  
"Well, I assumed that because Yuan said the desert gets cold at night, Efreet wouldn't want to stay and fight for long," Mithos said. On their way back to the little hole, Mithos paused before the manufacturing chamber.  
  
"What are you thinking, Mithos?" Martel asked.  
  
"He is considering destroying this abandoned city," Kratos surmised.  
  
"Yes. These machines were meant only to cause more pain and suffering. I won't pass up this opportunity." Mithos raised his sword. "I call upon thee, holder of the world's fire! Come, Efreet, and burn these wretched machines to dust!"  
  
Efreet, fully healed from their recent bout, gladly appeared before them in a cloud of smoke and held his arms forward.  
  
"My flames were harnessed to make weapons of war and so my flames shall be used to return these weapons to the earth! Vesuvius!" Efreet shouted, slamming his powerful fist into the floor and sending a shockwave all around them. Fissures broke out under the giant vats of mithril and magma spewed upward, consuming them in white-hot fire. The two chambers the manufacturing cavern connected to that served as warehouses for weapons became flooded with lava, which reclaimed what rightfully belonged to the world. "I pray my fire is never used to create these monstrosities again," Efreet said to Mithos before vanishing. He left a narrow path over the collapsed floors into the main entrance of the city. Strangely, they found the slab of rock had been conveniently opened, which was fortunate since Efreet destroyed the tunnel leading to the small hole.  
  
"Why do I get the feeling that a bunch of crazy guys are about to ambush us?" Mithos said. True to his prediction, a bunch of crazy guys in golden armor were waiting to ambush them.  
  
"Mithos, I presume, and your companions Martel, Kratos, and Solstice," a half-elf with a mullet of brown hair said. He was mounted on a strange dog like creature and carried a long spear. "I am Lord Kepler of the Knights of Thor."  
  
Mithos drew his sword, but Kepler put his own weapon down.  
  
"You're not here to fight?" Solstice asked.  
  
"I am here to tell you that the war has to be finished. If you continue to form pacts with summon spirits, it will only prolong the war," Kepler said. "Allow us to win and we'll be able to put an end to this pointless conflict once and for all."  
  
"No. Too many innocent people will get hurt. Even if one side wins, all that will happen is mass genocide," Martel replied.  
  
"You have my word that no such thing will happen," Kepler said.  
  
"Still, can you speak for the other commanders?" Kratos asked. "If you cannot, how can we place our trust in your words?"  
  
"The ironic part is that there are indeed factions within our nation that seek to wipe out human and elven populations through mass genocide as revenge. I am hoping that because I will likely lead the attack, none of that will happen," Kepler answered. A hover transport's rumbling was heard in the distance. Half of its armor was in shreds, but the hovercraft held its course all the way to the ruins. Kepler's knights put their spears down in a defensive wall, but it soon became apparent that it was unneeded.  
  
"Then you had better hurry to the port, my lord," Yuan said. "Lady Engima would like to let you know that Lord Dusk and Lord Cornelius are both preparing an invasion by sea."  
  
"I see. We will met again, Mithos, perhaps as enemies," Kepler warned, bidding them farewell before calling his knights to march out.  
  
"Yuan, are you all right?" Martel said.  
  
"For the most part. As soon as the humans heard that Lord Kepler was in the desert, they made a break for it and left behind quite a lot of weapons, none of which work now that Mithos has formed a pact with Efreet," Yuan explained. "Let's get back to Fortress Enigma... on the other hovercraft."  
  
They arrived back at the fortress near midnight, too late for any further discussion, and Yuan took them to the same room they had been kept prisoner in. Mithos, still a child at heart, plopped down quickly in his bunk and pulled up his blanket.  
  
"Good night everyone," he said.  
  
"He may have the power of two summon spirits now, but he will never miss a night's sleep," Kratos said. 


	9. Trial of Turbulent Waters

Chapter 9 :: Trial of Turbulent Waters

-------------------------------------------------  
_You have grown stronger again, Mithos.  
  
_"Erebus, what were you before becoming a shadow?" asked Mithos. Erebus' form now consisted of a dark cloak over his hidden shape and red eyes.  
  
_A failed leader. I failed to stop this terrible war, and now I can only lend my power to you. Your journey will now take you across the sea, to the heart of those who would seek to persecute our kind.  
  
_"Erebus, thank you," Mithos said.  
  
_In time, we will bring peace to the world.  
_-------------------------------------------------  
  
"What is this darkness...? Oh, Mithos, you have awakened. The others left for the airship hours ago."  
  
The first thing Mithos saw the next morning was Alice sitting on a bunk next to him.  
  
"What was that you just said before I got up?" Mithos asked.  
  
"Nothing with which you need to concern yourself. I was just thinking about your crystal," Alice replied. Alice accompanied Mithos to the hangar where the hovercraft from last night was parked. This time however, they would be boarding Alice's stealth skyship. Shaped like a giant bird with swept forward wings, the Zephyr could fly through the skies at nearly eight times the speed of sound and never be caught doing it.  
  
"Lady Enigma, I've told all of the others to head for the Arctic Base," Yuan reported.  
  
"Good. This place isn't exactly a fortress worthy of my name anymore," replied Alice.  
  
"Mithos, you really need to remember to wake up," Kratos told him when they entered the passenger compartment of the ship. The others had already finished their meal of bread and eggs, but they had left one plate for Mithos.  
  
"Kratos, you can't be that hard on him. He went through some tough battles yesterday," Martel said.  
  
"Everyone strap in. We're about to go places... fast," Yuan said over the intercom. Eagerly finishing his breakfast, Mithos rushed up to the cockpit of the aircraft.  
  
"If you intend to watch, at least have a seat," Alice said, clicking a switch on her console, which made a chair emerge from the floor. Mithos took his seat and put on his restraint. Not for an instant did she look away from her station. "Run through main systems check, Yuan."  
  
Yuan's scrolled through many glowing screen simultaneously, making sure that the Zephyr was ready to fly. His fingers moved rapidly from one panel to another. "All systems, go."  
  
"Mithos! There you are," Kratos said, coming into the command center. "Martel and I got worried about you since you ran off like that."  
  
"Mithos isn't a child anymore," Yuan said. "You needn't watch over him all the time."  
  
"Commence primary engine start. Increase Volt electric energy to 100 percent," Alice instructed. Yuan and Alice put on headsets with a display that went over the eyes. The headsets, plugged into the Zephyr's main computer, provided them all the information they needed to fly the airship. Yuan called up another chair for Kratos, since he didn't seem to want to go back to the passenger compartment.  
  
"Here we go!" Mithos enthusiastically exclaimed. The hangar doors slid open amidst an array of flashing lights. Like a hawk taking flight, Zephyr shot out and glided for a few seconds before ascending to the clouds.  
  
"Heading west," Yuan reported. He pressed another lever, which surrounded their ship in a violet bubble.  
  
"So that's your secret stealth feature," Kratos said.  
  
"Impressive isn't it? It uses Shadow and Luna's respective energies to mask our presence," Alice said. Again, she didn't take any time to turn around.  
  
"We should be joining Lord Cornelius' ships soon," Yuan said. The Zephyr headed west to the sea where a huge fleet of ships and aircraft had been assembled. In the ocean sailed giant battleships made of mithril, which carried powerful lightning cannons. As they arrived, Yuan dispelled the invisibility shield, signaling their arrival with red flares. The Zephyr flew closer to the main air squadron of twenty Deathcarriers, where they received a flag signal from the lead airship.  
  
"What's it say?" asked Mithos.  
  
"Form up with Kepler's fleet... Admiral William Cornelius," Yuan read. The Zephyr fell to the rear of the formation as the entire invasion force moved out across the ocean. Though they could have reached Macerdon in a few hours, the airships flew slowly so the battleships could catch up.  
  
"We'll be taking a detour in a few hours to the island of Thoda where Undine sleeps," Alice informed them. "In the meantime, Yuan and I have much to attend to."  
  
"I see. Come on, Mithos," Kratos said, returning to the passenger compartment with Mithos. They found Martel and Solstice playing a game of chess at a table in the back.  
  
"Rook to C3, check," Solstice said.  
  
"Mithos, you want to try?" asked Martel.  
  
"That's all right, I'll just watch this one," Mithos answered.  
  
"Knight to E4," Martel said, calculating her strategy carefully.  
  
"Queen to E4, checkmate," Solstice replied. "You did quite well for a beginner."  
  
"Thanks, Solstice," said Martel. Next came Kratos' turn against Mithos, a battle of master and disciple. While their pieces moved across the board, Kratos told Mithos things that applied to real battles like surrounding the opponent and reading the enemy's moves.  
  
"Checkmate," Mithos said, moving his piece into a position from which Kratos could not escape. However, before Kratos could congratulate him, the airship lurched to the side and threw them against the wall. Through the window, they could see that Yuan had brought the invisibility barrier up again. Mithos ran back to the bridge with the others close behind them.  
  
"Deathcarrier Athena, launching Rheairds," a radio message reported.  
  
"Macerdon's sent a group of battleships to stop the invasion," Yuan told them. "We'll try not to get shot down."  
  
The Zephyr did a barrel roll and fell to a lower altitude while Deathcarriers fired their main turrets into the sea-bound Macerdonian fleet. In a projector between Alice and Yuan, a translucent picture of a man's face appeared. The blonde haired half elf seemed to show no signs of worry.  
  
"We are releasing the mana weapon, Midgard Serpent. There's only enough power for one shot, so we'll try to make this one count," he said before vanishing.  
  
"Impossible. Lord Cornelius said he wouldn't have that thing finished for a few months," Alice said.  
  
"What's this mana weapon you speak of?" inquired Solstice.  
  
"Think of it as an artificial summon spirit with destruction as its only purpose," Yuan explained.  
  
"The power is not reliant on any spirit. Midgard Serpent draws mana right out of Derris-Kharlan," added Alice. Below, a magic seal appeared on the sea's surface. Every nearby battleship directed a beam of light into the center, as did the Deathcarriers above.  
  
"Thoda's just ahead," Yuan said. Out of the magic seal came a titanic winged serpent with a body made of white light. With no way to control it, the Midgard Serpent smashed into nearby battleships before heading for the Macerdonian fleet. It let out a piercing scream as it glared at the ants beneath him.  
  
"Nuclear Nova!"  
  
"Maximum speed, now!" Alice yelled, throwing the throttle forward. With her precise flying, she guided the Zephyr to supersonic speed to land on an isolated island in the midst of the battle. Midgard Serpent spread its wings; feathers came loose and turned into fireballs. Impacting the ocean, the feathers exploded into towering pillars of flame. Finally, after destroying most of the Macerdonian fleet, the snake dived into the ocean where it dissolved.  
  
"Ugh!" Martel said, as she felt a terrible headache.  
  
"It must be the mana drain from Midgard Serpent. Derris-Kharlan's life-force has been partially depleted from it use," Alice said.  
  
Unlike the other two shrines they had visited, Undine, the maiden who personified the seas and rivers, waited at the entrance. Though the seas were chaotic around her, she remained calm. Her voice was one of a caring and kind spirit, as she said, "Mithos, so you have come."  
  
"Yes, we really need your help in ending this war," Mithos said.  
  
"Then we will see if you are strong enough," replied Undine. "I knew time for you was short, so I went ahead and appeared before you here."  
  
"Yuan, fight with them. I must see how my pupil has progressed," Alice said.  
  
"As you wish, Lady Enigma," said Yuan.  
  
The first strike in this battle came not from the spirit, but from Kratos as he tried to take Undine by surprise. As he was about to swing his sword, Undine turned into a puddle of water and reemerged behind him.  
  
"Reverse Blow!" Kratos called, turning around and thrusting into Undine. Undine shook off her injury, and countered with two swipes of her sword. As Kratos' defense broke down, Yuan and Mithos took his place.  
  
"Spirit of Light... Photon!" Martel called. Two rings of light surrounded Undine then collapsed in on her, stunning the water spirit momentarily.  
  
"You fight well on land," Undine conceded. By extending her sword out to the sea, she called in a powerful flood that brought ten feet of water into the battle arena. Alice, still observing, watched from the top of the Zephyr.  
  
"I've never fought in the water before, master," Mithos said. Using his wings, Mithos tried fighting from the air. Meanwhile, Undine reached into the water and created vortexes that drew the wingless ones beneath.  
  
"Martel!" Yuan called, swimming hard for her. "Eclipse!"  
  
"Thanks, Yuan," Martel said. Yuan's Eclipse bubble provided enough air for them underwater, and Solstice did the same for Kratos. The two pairs looked to Mithos as their only hope to win this fight. Geysers of steaming hot water shot up left and right as Mithos flew at Undine. Kratos' training made him extremely agile, so he found dodging Undine's water spells easy.  
  
"Spread!" called the water spirit. However, she used a giant tower of water this time and trapped Mithos inside. As he was knocked from side to side, he touched the ring that the Sylphs had given him.  
  
"I call..." Mithos started, but found his mouth filled with salty seawater. He gasped for air as he came out of Undine's water spire. "The guardians of the heavens." Undine called two arcs of water to stream out of the sea and smash Mithos into the brine.  
  
"Come... Sylph!" Mithos said in a gargled voice underwater. The three wind spirits appeared before him, lifting Mithos out of the sea with a tornado. All three concentrated their energies into forming a tidal wave that came down on Undine like a mallet. Mithos gave the Sylphs a thumbs up before they disappeared and then unfurled his wings again.  
  
"Starsword magic, activate! Star Thunder!" Mithos said as his magic sword was charged with electricity. However, he accidentally allowed it to dip into the sea, giving everyone in their bubbles quite a shock. "Sorry, guys."  
  
"I think we'd appreciate it if you went ahead and charged her really fast now. It would be a really electrifying experience," Yuan said. The four were released from their undersea traps as Undine's concentration broke.  
  
"Lightning blade!" Mithos shouted, calling a bolt of lightning to strike as he swung his sword into Undine. Undine took the hit, then immediately sent the floodwaters back to the sea.  
  
"Indeed you are strong, Mithos," she said.  
  
"Strong and wet as a fish," Yuan joked.  
  
"Well done, Yuan," Alice said from afar.  
  
"Speak your vow," Undine said.  
  
"All right. For the sake of creating a world in which nobody will ever suffer from war again, I ask for your power," Mithos pledged. Undine changed into a cool azure light and became an aquamarine stone, which embedded itself into Mithos' Starsword.  
  
"Call me when you need to cool things off a bit," Undine said.  
  
"Oh, gosh. I've heard enough puns for today," Mithos remarked. Suddenly, a light shot out from his crystal so bright that it pierced the clouds overhead. Mithos fell to the ground as he entered a kind of trance. 


	10. The Enemy's Domain

Chapter 10 :: The Enemy's Domain

-------------------------------------------  
  
_Mithos, your power has grown to the level in which you no longer can control it. Relinquish some of it to me for safekeeping.  
_  
This time, he could see Erebus in his true figure. Erebus was a tall half elf, wearing silver armor and a gold helmet.  
  
"Mithos! Mithos!" Martel's voice cried.  
  
"Don't touch his crystal!" Alice snapped.  
_  
Entrust your mana to me. _  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
Martel reached for the crystal, but as soon as she touched it, a blinding white flash struck her heart. Alice pulled her away and grasped the crystal herself.  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
_Now, Mithos, before the crystal takes your soul.  
_  
"Mithos, snap out of it," Alice said.  
  
_Enigma? Why are you interfering?  
_  
Erebus vanished before she arrived in Mithos' dream state.  
  
"Who was he really?" Mithos asked.  
  
"I don't know. But I have to get you out of here," Alice said. "Take my hand."  
  
Mithos grabbed Alice's hand and a bright flash of light engulfed his dream realm.  
  
----------------------------------------  
  
"Ack. I pushed too far," Alice muttered when she broke Mithos' trance.  
  
"Martel, your hand!" Yuan said. Her right hand was turning blue, in addition to the part of her chest that the beam from Mithos' crystal struck.  
  
"I have never seen anything before that could do such things to people," Solstice said, finding that part of Martel's skin had turned to crystal.  
  
"You shouldn't have touched it," Alice said.  
  
"You are in much worse shape than Martel," Kratos noted. Parts of Alice's neck and her hands had fully crystallized.  
  
"It's because of her nature," Yuan said. "She was the original host for that cursed thing bound to Mithos."  
  
"Eh... That crystal was planted twenty years ago during Admiral Cornelius' Angelus Alpha project. When they removed it for implantation into a new host, it left me half-dead and half-alive. Though I am physically present here, my consciousness exists free from my body, allowing me to peer into people's minds and catch brief glimpses of the future," Alice said.  
  
"That's enough now, Alice," Martel said. She tried to cast a Healing Circle spell, but it had no effect on the crystallization.  
  
"Curse you, Cornelius. You aren't satisfied with toying with one person's life, but you had to go on and harm two others," Mithos said, clenching his fists.  
  
"These are the true casualties of wars, the innocent lives caught between the fighting," Kratos said.  
  
"There's no point in staying here. We have to make for Macerdon," Yuan advised.  
  
"Why Macerdon? Wouldn't going back to Delthis be a better choice?" Solstice asked.  
  
"No. Delthis has been ruined by war. We have a better chance of finding the cure in Macerdon," Yuan answered. He helped Martel to the passenger compartment of the Zephyr while Kratos and Solstice lifted Alice. Already, Martel's skin was beginning to turn pale. "Our spy network knows of a researcher doing similar studies to Cornelius' work in Macerdon's southern jungles. He might be willing to help us."  
  
Piloting the airship with Solstice in the second seat, Yuan brought the Zephyr high in the sky and darted off westward towards the homeland of their enemy. As Zephyr sped through the air at breakneck speed, they passed the invasion force whose ships floated adrift since Undine no longer powered their engines.  
  
"Lady Enigma, where are you going?" asked Kepler over the projector.  
  
"There's no time for me to explain this to you, my lord. Just trust us," Yuan replied.  
  
"Understood. I'll delay the invasion as much as possible," he said. "Good luck, Enigma's Ghosts."  
  
"Do you have any idea where this man we are looking for is?" said Solstice.  
  
"I only have a vague one. We've been out of contact for a while."  
  
"Martel, you didn't need to touch that crystal for me," Mithos said. Martel and Alice were both resting in the passenger cabin, tended by Mithos and Kratos.  
  
"I'm sorry, Mithos," Martel said weakly.  
  
"Both of us will regain our strength again. This is not the first time my body has crystallized," Alice reassured Mithos.  
  
The Zephyr's wings carried it over the jungles of Macerdon's southern continent, where it landed amidst colorful and exotic trees. By the time they stepped out, the rain forest's humidity amplified the midafternoon heat. Zephyr's landing legs dropped into wet soil, stirring up a flock of birds.  
  
"Lady Enigma, should you be up right now?" Yuan asked. Alice was the first to step out into the unknown terrain. She wore a pair of leather gloves over the places on her hand where the crystallization had reached.  
  
"I will be fine, Yuan," she said. "I've been through a lot worse."  
  
"So, which way to this guy we're looking for?" Mithos said.  
  
"West, the village is about a few hours walk from here," Yuan answered.  
  
"Martel, will you be able to make it that far?" Mithos asked. Martel nodded showing that she could still walk, though not as fast. Some of the color had returned to her skin.  
  
"The jungles of Macerdon harbor virulent creatures. Be on your guard," Kratos warned. Before departing, Yuan set the Zephyr into stealth mode again so Macerdon's soldiers would not discover it. Using his sword as a machete, Mithos slashed a path through the dense brush with Kratos and Yuan close behind also attacking the leaves with their weapons.  
  
The forest quickly began to get repetitive and Mithos started to daydream as he walked onward in the seemingly endless jungle. _Where could anyone find a village in this place?_ As he pressed on, he suddenly felt a strand take hold of his arm. A second thread wrapped around his other arm, trapping Mithos between two trees.  
  
"Spiders!" Solstice said. He put his hand to the cobwebs and sent a burst of fire into them, but with no effect. Alice stepped forward and attempted to cut the threads with her scythe.  
  
"They are too thin. My weapon passes right through," she said.  
  
"What kind of spideweb is this?" asked Martel.  
  
Kratos tried to go through around the tree, but found that strands were laid down all around them. Tick! Tick! Tick! Tick! They heard the frightening sound of legs moving in the treetops.  
  
"Kratos, aim your sword attack at the base of the tree!" Yuan shouted. He took his weapon, a blade with two swords connected at the hilt, and rammed it into the left tree's trunk. Kratos did the same with his sword, releasing a blast of energy on strike. Both trees fell down and pulled the spider webs apart, which freed Mithos. "Well, ready everyone?"  
  
Not intent on letting its prey escape, a three-foot tall arachnid dropped from a nearby tree. Its fangs dripped with corrosive venom.  
  
"Photon... blast!" Martel called, firing a shot of light into the spider's eyes, blinding it.  
  
"Raven!" Yuan's darkness beams penetrated the spider's abdomen, drawing out its life force. Suddenly, the spider backed up and then lunged for Mithos, fangs bared. Alice sprang forward and held out her arm. As the spider bit into her crystallized hand, its fangs broke and Yuan's darkness spell finished it off.  
  
"I hope we don't run into any of those things again," Mithos said.  
  
"It seems crystallization has some advantages," Alice commented, pulling off her glove and sleeve back to see that the spider's venom was useless. Their trek took them to an area in the jungle where a modest city stood. Several trails ran into and out of the village, providing supplies to the people. A limestone wall ran around the city with gaps only at the trails.  
  
"Halt!" a guard in full metal armor at the entrance said. "Show your passes."  
  
"Passes?" asked Mithos.  
  
"All half-elves are required to have passes to travel in and out of town," he said.  
  
"They're not from Macerdon. They're Delthis Desians!" Another knight behind him said. "That girl is wearing clothing of a priestess from that region."  
  
"We're not here to fight. We only need to seek help to cure an illness," Martel insisted.  
  
"Then more the reason we shouldn't let you in. We can't allow you filthy half-elves to infect our people with your diseases," the knight said.  
  
"What gives you the right to speak to people like that you barely even know?" Solstice said. His voice slowly got louder as he continued. "These children only seek to help another they care for." Solstice raised his hand as if he was about to call upon the wrath of a thousand dragons.  
  
"Children?" everyone but Mithos said in unison.  
  
"Let them pass," someone behind them ordered. A man with a goatee and wearing a laboratory coat walked through the two soldiers to meet Mithos' party.  
  
"Lord Sirius! They're Desians, our enemies!" the guard insisted.  
  
"You are defying an order from your lord?" Sirius said angrily. "I promise you, I will strip you of your positions and cast you in a dark prison for a very long time."  
  
The two guards, frightened as a rat in the face of a hungry cat, responded, "Yes... sir..."  
  
"Dr. Robert Sirius, governor of this village," the man eagerly said, shaking hands with Mithos.  
  
"It doesn't matter that we're Desians to you? Well, except for Kratos and Solstice," Mithos asked.  
  
"Not at all. We are so far from the frontlines that war is not something we keep on our minds often. Come this way to my villa and we shall discuss things of greater importance." Sirius led them to a two story building in the rear of town. The villagers looked up from their work as the peculiar group passed them.  
  
"Welcome, master," a half-elf attendant to Sirius greeted.  
  
"George, we'll be having five guests tonight. Please make preparations for them," requested the governor. They came through the steel gates of the villa into a quiet rose garden and then to the parlor of his home on the second floor. They sat down as Sirius opened the window and let in the setting sun over the jungle.  
  
"How come you don't treat us like the others do?" asked Martel.  
  
"I am a doctor. Though I am a noble in the Macerdonian Kingdom, I took on the practice of medicine as a young man. I treated many people, both humans and half-elves, because of my profession's duty," explained Sirius.  
  
"Then you are the man we have been searching for," Yuan said. He watched the sunset form the balcony. "Dr. Robert Sirius, head scientist of Meltokio's Elemental Research Institute."  
  
"Alice Enigma or shall I say Alice Karith, Enigma's Ghosts."  
  
"Then I have met both of you before at the institute," Sirius said.  
  
"We were to pose as scientists and determine how far Macerdon had progressed in Angel Crystal research. It was also Yuan's first mission with me," Alice said.  
  
"Mr. Sirius, we are in need of your help. Alice and I wish to know if you can cure an illness," Martel said.  
  
"What kind of illness?"  
  
"Show them," Solstice instructed. Alice took off her glove and Martel rolled up her sleeve, both revealing how far their crystallization had progressed.  
  
"By the gods!" Sirius exclaimed.  
  
"Can you cure them? Can you save my sister and Alice?" Mithos pleaded.  
  
"I don't think it will be as simple as giving them a potion," Kratos said.  
  
"Our top researchers had succeeded in finding a cure before I resigned my position at the institute. They called the infection Chronic Angelus Crystallus Inofficium, where the spirit radiation from the crystal takes over body cells. These cells spread like a virus throughout the body with only one purpose- replication."  
  
"You resigned?" Yuan said.  
  
"I realized what was happening when our scientists carried out the first experiment. The crystals seem to multiply a normal person's abilities, but at the same time feed on their life. When we attempted to remove one of them, they became..."  
  
"Like me," Alice finished.  
  
"No, something worse happened after the stage you are in now. The hosts turned into horrible monsters, which had to be executed. Ironically, Chronic Angelus Crystallus Inofficium seemed to permanently halt the transformation process. The infected cells must be somehow neutralize the mutation of DNA within healthy cells."  
  
"Cells... DNA?" Mithos said, confused by Sirius' jargon.  
  
"In essence, since the crystallization wants to keep spreading, it will prevent the body from taking a new shape in order to be completed," Solstice explained in simpler terms.  
  
"So, what is the cure?" Kratos asked. Sirius dug into his bag and fished out a blue crystal, exactly like they one they found in Balacruf Mausoleum, and a bag of green leaves. Mithos reached into his own pocket and placed the gem they found on the table.  
  
"Mana Fragments are used with the Mana Leaf herb to create a core around which a Zircon shell is placed. Finally, the healing powers of a unicorn provide the magic necessary to complete the Rune Crest, a magic pendant that reverses the process."  
  
"We have the fragments and the herb. Where can we find a unicorn and Zircon?" asked Mithos.  
  
"Zircon was mined in the northern Flanoir continent and the unicorn has a home in a lake to the south of here," Solstice said.  
  
"There is no way into Flanoir, since the war turned it into a wasteland," Kratos said.  
  
"Enigma's Ghosts will take care of it. We have been working on radiation protectors for months in our Arctic Base," Yuan answered.  
  
"There is one more thing. While Martel's condition will not be life threatening until a few months, Alice only has a few days before the crystallization reaches a lethal level," cautioned Sirius.  
  
"Then we'll have to split up," Mithos suggested. "Kratos and I can go to the northern continent."  
  
"And I shall accompany them. I know the terrain well and the location of our Arctic Base," Alice said.  
  
"Then Martel, Yuan, and I will go south to the lake. Alice is needed in the north and Martel will be required to meet the unicorn which will only appear before pure maidens," Solstice said.  
  
"My lord, we await you in the garden," George said over a projector.  
  
"Excellent. Now, the time for feasting has come," Sirius said jovially. In the flower garden, a long table was set up with the finest food the adventurers had ever seen. Fish, fresh from the jungle's rivers and a whole boar had been prepared for them. Also, fruits so exotic that Sirius himself could not come to pronounce their names were served from glass bowls. Alice took a seat by Yuan as he sat down with Martel. Solstice, Kratos, and Sirius sat on the other side with a few government officials, leaving Mithos with his sister.  
  
"Are you reading my mind again, Lady Enigma?" asked Yuan.  
  
"I can sense you and Martel are growing closer. Make sure to always stay by her side," Alice said mysteriously.  
  
"Wow! I've never had such amazing food in my life!" exclaimed Mithos, who took a bite from a juicy piece of boar meat. He nudged his sister next to him. "Play that one song, Martel."  
  
"'Dance of the Wind'?"  
  
"Yeah, that one."  
  
Martel took an old panpipe from her bag and put her mouth to it.  
  
"I have never heard her perform a song before," Solstice remarked to Kratos.  
  
"Nor have I," Kratos replied. "But Mithos tells me of his sister's talent sometimes."  
  
The melody began with a haunting prologue as if a calm wind were blowing through an empty city, ravaged by the Eternal War. Next, it picked up with a happier piece wherein the gentle breeze blew as two lovers danced through the abandoned streets. Then came a fast paced portion, portraying a hurricane as two armies clashed amidst the burg. Finally, Martel's song came to a conclusion with the same eerie prologue. The wind blew again silently, for the two lovers, both from opposite sides of the conflict, rested forever in the center of the city.  
  
"That was splendid, Martel!" Yuan said. Everyone at the table gave a resounding round of applause, even the normally cool Kratos. For a brief moment, Martel's song made them all forget about the troubles of the world and their dire problems.  
  
"A toast! To a bright future," Sirius said, raising his glass of cider. Since he was a doctor, he did not drink any wine; however, Kratos and Solstice had a cup of the finest in the jungles.  
  
"To a bright future," the resounding cry came. Mithos could not remember how late it was before they retired to the comfortable rooms of the Sirius estate. He got into a bed large enough for four people and pulled up the soft fluffy sheets. 


	11. Wasteland of Ice

Chapter 11 :: Wasteland of Ice

-------------------------------------  
_Is this the future you desire?  
  
_"Erebus! Why did you try to harm my sister and Alice?" Mithos demanded.  
  
_That could not be helped, Mithos. The crystal has a life of its own when it tries to protect itself from interference. Our plans must change if we are to end this war. Gather together all the remaining summon spirits for us...  
  
_The realm of glowing lights they usually stood in changed to a view from above Meltokio, the capital of Macerdon. Hundreds of ebon armored Deathcarriers flew over the city, bombarding it with lightning. Then, a massive ship parted the fleet as it fired a powerful emerald beam into the city center. The resulting explosion wiped everything out for miles.  
  
_This is how the war will end if we do not restrain the remaining spirits.  
_  
"Then...."  
  
_There's more, Mithos. A city will fall to the flames of injustice and a champion will be slain. Be on your guard._  
  
Their realm was consumed by the images of fire and burning buildings, but Mithos only heard the sounds of people screaming in pain and fear.  
  
----------------------------------------------  
  
"What must you be going through right now?" Kratos asked. Mithos found himself looking not at the room in Sirius' villa but inside the Zephyr's passenger compartment. Their only window to the outside had become fogged up by the heavy humidity.  
  
"What do you mean, master?" responded Mithos.  
  
"You were tossing and turning all through your sleep when we brought you here. Don't worry. You didn't oversleep this time. Alice simply thought it best to depart before sunrise," Kratos explained. He left Mithos to his meal, leftovers from last night's party.  
  
"I could sense turmoil in his mind. Something so dark, I dare not use my telepathy," Alice said to Kratos when he returned to the cockpit. Clouds blew past them like leaves in the wind. "Do you know how to fly?"  
  
"No. I have never been too fond of aircraft," Kratos said.  
  
"That's different," Mithos said, rubbing the condensation off the window. They were zooming over not jungle, but a frozen sea. Icebergs and chunks of ice drifted in the water. Having finished eating, Mithos went up to the cockpit where Alice was about to land the aircraft.  
  
"The course to open the Arctic Base gates is quite rough. You might want to hold on," Alice said. Mithos and Kratos strapped themselves into their seats. Alice threw the throttle lever forward, bringing Zephyr to full speed. Erected on top of icebergs were arches, which they had to fly through. Alice radioed to the fortress of Enigma's Ghosts. "Zephyr calling Arctic. We're coming in."  
  
The ship gracefully danced from one arch to the next before coming to a large island at the edge of a glacier. A pair of giant metal doors opened up and allowed the Zephyr to glide inside and touch down soft as a feather.  
  
"That was some awesome piloting, Alice!" Mithos said.  
  
"Welcome to Beta Fortress Arctic!" a soldier of Enigma's Ghosts said, saluting Alice as she got off with Mithos and Kratos. "Lord Yuan is not with you?" Mithos then noticed that he was one of the guards they found playing cards back at the desert fortress.  
  
"Yuan is attending to a special mission. Show us to your laboratory," Alice replied.  
  
"Right this way," the soldier said. The Arctic Base seemed to be an identical copy of the Triet fortress, had it not been for a few extra corridors. They came into a cargo room where large boxes filled with food were stored in refrigeration. "I have to pick up something for Lord Darius."  
  
"That's all right," Alice said.  
  
"So how do they not get frozen into a popsicle in this place?" Mithos asked.  
  
"They must have another of those climate controlling cubes," Kratos suggested. The soldier retrieved a frozen metal box in the corner and then led them to a platform. All four got aboard as they were whisked to a much warmer third floor. As they passed the second floor, Mithos caught a glimpse of some scientists working on a large capsule device.  
  
"Here we are, Lord Darius' chamber."  
  
They found themselves inside a command structure with a launch catapult to the frozen wasteland. Displays projecting values that neither Mithos nor Kratos could comprehend were all around them.  
  
"Adjust that wing a few degrees upward, Bob," Darius, a dwarf with a white beard commanded. Three men in white coats rapidly punched keys into a computer. "No, that still doesn't give enough lift."  
  
"Excuse me, Lord Darius," Alice said.  
  
"Lady Enigma! Um... all of you have the rest of the day off," Darius said to his associates.   
  
"So what do these things do?" Mithos asked, looking at a console displaying a projection of a Rheaird.  
  
"Don't touch any of that," Darius insisted, running over to Mithos on his short legs. Even though he was just four feet tall, he still could move quickly. Darius turned off all the machines except for a large screen on the wall.  
  
"Mithos, Kratos, and I need to know what your progress is on the radiation protector so we can go into Flanoir," Alice said.  
  
"Yes, yes. But there's something you've got to see first," Darius excitedly said. Putting his rubber gloves on, he opened the box the soldier had taken him. Inside was a miniature hourglass with wires hanging off of it. "That's for later."  
  
"Our time here is not infinite. We have to hurry or Ali..." Kratos began. Alice immediately cut him off.  
  
"My friend will be in danger," Alice said.  
  
"Our surveillance of the Delthis army showed Lord Dusk is already in Macerdon, scorching a two-pronged path south into the jungle and north to the capital," Darius said.  
  
"He's ignoring us, right?" Mithos whispered to his mentor.  
  
"It would appear so."  
  
"Then our greatest worry has come true. What of Lord Kepler?" Alice inquired. She closely followed Darius' explanation.  
  
"Kepler has been demoted and placed under Dusk's command," Darius answered.  
  
"This Dusk guy... who is he?" Mithos asked.  
  
"The name Dusk is only an alias for the one whose mastery of deception has given him the rank of general. Only a few know of his real name. Dusk is merciless when it comes to war. He planned the attack on Heimdall in order to wrest the last elven stronghold from Macerdon's hands, regardless of how many would die," Darius explained. "Now, my lady. I have your radiation protector right here."  
  
He gave Alice the hourglass. When it fell into her glove, a warm light surrounded them.  
  
"This will protect us?" said Mithos.  
  
"Only for a few minutes of exposure to the nuclear winter," Darius said.  
  
"That should be more than enough time to reach the cavern from the airship," Kratos said.  
  
"By the way, Lady Enigma. Drop by when you finish with your mission at Flanoir. I've got to give the Zephyr an upgrade."  
  
"We will make sure to," Alice replied.  
  
Back on the airship, the three strapped into their seats and readied for flight again. As the main door opened, the rising sun's rays filled the hangar.  
  
"So why did you cut Kratos off?" Mithos asked. This time Kratos returned the favor by interrupting before Alice could respond.  
  
"You believed you can't look weak in front of your soldiers, right?" Kratos said.  
  
"That is correct. I can't imagine how they would feel if the one they looked up to for leadership were stricken by a seemingly incurable illness," Alice continued. "Standby for flight."  
  
Zephyr took off from the Arctic base and headed over the glaciers into the frozen continent of Flanoir. A heavy blizzard constantly covered the white landscape. Flanoir was once a busy trading center before the Eternal War broke out. It was always a cold place to live, but when Delthis attacked with elemental fusion weapons, life there was impossible.  
  
"Those are the craters from the bombs, correct?" Kratos said. A huge crater, nearly twenty miles wide, jutted out from the flat snowscape. 


	12. Quest for the Zircon

Chapter 12 :: Quest for the Zircon

"Here we are," Alice said, putting the Zephyr right up against a cavern in the mountains at the southern edge of the continent. "When I lower the ramp, you have three minutes to make it to that cave. Take only what you need and do not look back. Radiation here is deadly even if exposure is only for a few moments."  
  
Alice gave Kratos and Mithos thick coats and pulled her hood over her face. She took only her scythe while Kratos brought his sword and Mithos his sword with a few healing items.  
  
"This feels a little to big," Mithos remarked. The sleeves were a few inches longer than his hands.  
  
"Open!" Alice shouted, lowering the ramp at the back of the airship. "Run!"  
  
Mithos called his wings and glided across the snow into the cavern. As soon as he left the ship, a painfully cold chill came down upon his face. He felt his nose hairs freezing into ice. Once Kratos and Alice were clear of the ship, the ramp automatically retracted to protect the ship from the radiation.  
  
"Are we safe yet?" Mithos asked.  
  
"No, we have to make it at least to the lower caverns," Alice said, losing no speed as she ran. Even Kratos had difficulty catching up with her as she bounced from cavern wall to cavern wall. The tunnel led deep into the mine several hundred feet underground. "We should be safe now."  
  
"Oh my..." Mithos said. Three skeletons, two adults and a child, slept peacefully covered by a blanket next to the mine's entrance.  
  
"They must have been people fleeing the attack," Kratos said.  
  
"Gods of the beyond, carry these spirits to the afterlife," Alice said, kneeling before them and praying. Without Martel's staff, they could only rely on some queer glowing crystals or Kratos' torch inside the mine.  
  
"Mithos, come," Kratos urged.  
  
"This mine connects two caverns, Gnome's and Celsius'. Both of them are summon spirits," Alice informed them. "Gnome's cavern is where the Zircon was mined."  
  
"So can we go and form pacts with these spirits?" Mithos asked.  
  
"It would be a waste of time as neither Gnome nor Celsius are used by any of the nations," Kratos said. When the mine came to a fork, Alice stuck her scythe into the left one. The edge of it immediately built up a coat of frost.  
  
"The other way is likely Gnome's place."  
  
"I can hear... dancing," Mithos said. His ears, sharper because of his crystal, picked up the sound of congas beating in the distance. As one tunnel led to another, they found themselves in some kind of miniature city. Tiny buildings only a tall as a man's shoulders had been carved into the walls.  
  
"Hey, hey! Some crazy losers dropped into Gnomelettetown," a tiny man said. Apparently one of the inhabitants of the small village, the munchkin was only a foot tall.  
  
"You guys here for some of our rocks?" another little man said.  
  
"Do you happen to have any Zircon?" Kratos asked.  
  
"'Do you happen to have any Zircon?' Geez, you're such a stiff guy," the first little man said.  
  
"We'll pay you whatever you want," Alice said.  
  
"All right. A billion Gald," the second gnome said.  
  
"Now, now, now... Just give him the blue stone for free. They don't seem to be bad people. Sheesh, kids these days," a voice said from the walls.  
  
"Whatever you say, boss," the first gnome said, tipping his pointy hat to the rock wall. "This way and watch your step, since we just built that arcade over there."  
  
"What's an arcade?" asked Mithos. Strangely rythmic music blared from the interior of a small building as a rainbow of lights pulsated from within.  
  
"You've never seen an arcade before? You play video games and Dance Dance Revolution."  
  
"Video Games..."  
  
"Dance Dance..."  
  
"Revolution..."  
  
The three were utterly confused by the strange terminology the little Gnomelette used.  
  
"Never mind. Guys, we need to open the roof," the Gnomelette told his friends in a warehouse as small as a shoebox. The flat roof unfolded neatly, revealing a large blue crystal.  
  
"This should be more than enough," Alice said. While it would have taken ten Gnomelettes to carry it, Alice picked it up with one hand, tucking it under her cloak.  
  
"Now that we have the Zircon, I think we should return to the surface," Kratos advised.  
  
"No. We must push further on," Alice said, looking down a dark passageway where no glowing crystals lit the way.  
  
"So we can find the summon spirits?" asked Mithos.  
  
"This tunnel seems to connect with the surface. It will be faster this way than the way we came," Alice said.  
  
"Hmm... Guess I have to trust your judgment then," Kratos replied. Within the tunnel, droplets of water fell from the ceiling onto their heads. Occasionally, they heard the sound of a rushing underground river in the distance.  
  
"The ground here's different," Mithos observed. The ground beneath their feet did not feel like hard bedrock, but instead appeared cracked and dried up.  
  
"A river ran through here once. Alice, are you certain that this leads to the surface, because it seems we are only going deeper?" Kratos said.  
  
"Trust me," Alice replied. "Stop, Mithos."  
  
"What? Why?" Mithos asked. The brittle ground beneath him broke through as it collapsed, sending him plunging down into a lower level. By stabbing the end of her scythe into the ground, the rock under the other two also fell through.  
  
"I am sorry, Mithos. It was something that had to be done," Alice said.  
  
"Kratos, help!"


	13. Master and Student

Chapter 13 :: Master and Student

Yay for flashbacks!

-----------------------------------------  
  
_Your friends cannot reach you now, Mithos. Alice has betrayed you  
  
_-----------------------------------------  
  
Mithos' head was throbbing from a terrible headache as he regained consciousness alone in a tunnel. Fortunately, glowing crystals grew in this part of the cavern, providing light for him. He put his hand to his forehead to find that he had a major cut there that was still bleeding. Immediately, he applied some of the healing gels he brought to his wound, stopping the blood from flowing there. With one hand on his Starsword at all times, Mithos proceeded deeper into the downward-sloping tunnel.  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
"You knew the floor was going to collapse!" Kratos angrily accused, putting his sword to Alice's neck. "You Ghosts really hide your allegiances well, don't you?"  
  
The figure of Alice blinked and reappeared behind Kratos.  
  
"It had to be done. Mithos has been dependent on you and Martel for too long. If he has any chance of being our hope to restore peace, he needs to learn to survive on his own," Alice said.  
  
"And you didn't think this was something you should have told me?"  
  
"I knew you would rush in and pull Mithos out of there if I told you. You are far too protective of him."  
  
"He's my student."  
  
"That is no excuse for holding his hand with every step."  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
"That's odd," Mithos remarked, seeing a strange gem that had come loose from the wall. Unlike the other crystals, this jewel shone in a pure white light. Since it was small enough to carry, Mithos put it in his pocket with the hope that he could give it to Martel later on as a gift.  
  
At last he reached a small cavern on which there was a seal in the floor.  
  
"Where on earth could it be?" the voice that came from the walls earlier said. Mithos looked into the shadows of the cavern to see a ten-foot tall mole with a red ribbon on its head. In its paw was an enormous metal shovel.  
  
"You're Gnome, the spirit of earth, right?" Mithos said, cautiously approaching him.  
  
"That's right! The tunneler of the ground... the master of earthquakes... the one and only... GNOME!" he answered.  
  
"Then are you looking for this?" Mithos asked. He showed Gnome the jewel that he picked up in the tunnel.  
  
"Where... where did you find it?" Gnome replied, snatching the gem from Mithos.  
  
"In that tunnel."  
  
"So, I assume you are here to get my power," Gnome said. "Everyone's been doing that lately. In the past century, at least a hundred crazy guys come here and demand my power so they can find gold or something."  
  
"But..." Mithos started.  
  
"But I think you're different. Tell you what, I'll battle you and if you win, I'll give you my precious gem and my power," Gnome said.  
  
"Me battle... alone?" Mithos stammered. With Sylph, Undine, and Efreet, he had his friends, but he was shaking in his shoes at the prospect of fighting a spirit on his own.  
  
"Hmm... Confidence issues, eh? Well come right over here and we'll begin your training," Gnome said, showing Mithos a pile of boulders. "I want you to move them over to that pile and afterwards you'll have gained the strength of a thousand men."  
  
"Um... okay..." Mithos replied, lugging the smallest of the boulders off the top and then rolling it along the floor.  
  
"Heh, funny kid," Gnome said to himself.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
In another section of the caverns, Alice and Kratos continued their discussion. Kratos had sheathed his blade and they were progressing into lower regions of the tunnel hoping to find a way to the surface or to Mithos.  
  
"Tell me. How did he become your apprentice anyway?" Alice asked.  
  
"Everything started seven years ago, in Heimdall with the coming of the Eternal War," Kratos began...  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
Heimdall, seven years ago, was a peaceful hamlet of elves that lived in isolation from the rest of the world. While other elven villages had sided with Macerdon, Heimdall declared its neutrality from the immediate start. For over 900 years, it remained neutral while the world tore itself to pieces.  
  
"Mithos, you all right?" Martel asked. She was only 17 years old then and Mithos was only 7. The two were alone in their modest house.  
  
"The elder said that we aren't real elves and that we're lucky we even have homes," Mithos said.  
  
"Don't listen to them, Mithos. We're just like the others, just that we have a human father," Martel consoled.  
  
That day, rumors were flying around that Macerdon intended to take the village for itself, by force if necessary. When a battalion of human soldiers marched into town late in the afternoon, they declared their kingdom had annexed Heimdall. That night, they watched as the soldiers searched every house for half-elves which they believed to be conspiring with Delthis.  
  
"This place will no longer be a safe haven to those who threaten our bloodlines!" the cry rang out that came from the soldiers. As Mithos and Martel hid in their home, they could hear the sound of muskets executing the traitors the soldiers seized.  
  
"We're going to be okay, right?" Mithos said.  
  
"Mithos, we're leaving," Martel said. They sneaked out of the house at midnight, and then crept along the village riverbank until they reached the old log bridge. Years ago, Martel and Mithos would sit on this bridge fishing for abundant bluegills. Suddenly, they felt the cold steel of blades against the back of their necks.  
  
"Lord Kratos, we found two here trying to escape," a soldier said.  
  
"They must be spies for the Desians," a second knight said.  
  
"Idiot! They are just children," Kratos, in a white uniform, scolded.  
  
"You know Lord Procyon's orders! Eradicate all half-elves," a third soldier said. The first raised his sword to cut Martel asunder.  
  
"Divine Storm Blade," Kratos said, knocking the blade from his hand with his own Dragon's Tear. "Both of you will come with me."  
  
"Lord Kratos, what do you intend to do with them? Lord Procyon of the Black Phoenix will have you killed too if you save them," the second said.  
  
"Then say that I was killed in action taking this village. I have seen enough of Procyon's blind hate, which will do nothing to end this war. If you want to continue to be soldiers, do as I say or else Procyon will personally execute you for failing to stop me."  
  
The soldiers began to whisper to one another before coming to a conclusion. "We trust you, my lord. We'll say you were killed by an elven archer trying to defend the village."  
  
Without a word, Kratos helped Mithos and Martel to their feet and led them in the direction of Ymir Forest.  
  
"What are your names?"  
  
"M... Mithos."  
  
"Martel."  
  
"Um... did we get you in trouble, sir?" asked Mithos.  
  
"It was something that was coming to me. My master has been insisting that I be less lenient towards your kind, but this time, he crossed the line."  
  
"I don't want to see any more people get hurt," Mithos said.  
  
"If that is your desire, you must learn how to fight for yourself. I can teach you how to use a sword, but you must find the strength within you to fight on your own."  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
"So in the end, Martel took up a job as a cleric in the temple and I began to train Mithos. He was a slow starter, but eventually his sword skills improved," Kratos said.  
  
"And you don't think it has grown enough for him to be on his own?" asked Alice.  
  
"He still thinks like a child, with little knowledge of how the real world works."  
  
"Perhaps that is where you are mistaken. Mithos has ideals that he strives for, and those ideals are the strength he draws from to fight."  
  
"Perhaps..." 


	14. Alone

Chapter 14 :: Alone

"Ugh!" Mithos pushed the last boulder into place on the other side of the room. "I think I feel stronger."  
  
"Okay, ready to fight now, kid?" Gnome asked.  
  
"Ready!" exclaimed Mithos. Starsword in one hand, Mithos took flight and clashed with Gnome's shovel. "I'll start off by playing my trump card. Guardians of the heavens, I summon thee! Come, Sylph!"  
  
"Whoa! Sylph, I haven't seen you gals in a while," Gnome responded. Sephie, Yutis, and Fairess circled around Gnome sending a pulse of strong wind into the earth spirit.  
  
"How was that?" Mithos taunted.  
  
"Better than expected. You ready for this?" Gnome replied, jumping high into the ceiling and diving down for Mithos. Mithos did a back flip and leaped out of Gnome's range. However, Gnome had one more surprise waiting for him. The ribbon on his head started spinning like a propeller, trapping Mithos in its rotation. It spun Mithos around and tossed him aside dazed.  
  
"Ow... who knew ribbons could do so much damage," Mithos remarked.  
  
"This is my Super Awesome Custom Ribbon of Death," Gnome said. Mithos bounced off the walls to the ceiling and embedded his sword into the ceiling.  
  
"If this whole area has brittle ceilings, maybe this'll work," Mithos said to himself. "Sonic Thrust!"  
  
"Whoa! Not my ceiling!" Gnome yelled. Cracks shot out of the place that Mithos hit and sent several tons of stone tumbling down on Gnome. Buried under the rocks, Gnome got back up on his feet some time later. "I'm okay. I'm okay. You seem strong, kid, so go ahead and say your vow."  
  
"So that nobody will ever suffer from the terrors of war again, I ask that you grant me your power," Mithos said.  
  
"You got it, kiddo."  
  
"By the way, thanks for all that training."  
  
"Training? Oh, that was just my furniture that I didn't feel like moving. My arm's been stiff lately so I could have used some help."  
  
"So..."  
  
"Yup, pushing boulders around did nothing. Listen, Mithos, all the training in the world won't help you at all if you believe you can't do anything alone. Let's see. How does this work again?" Gnome turned into a golden light, changing into a bracelet that fit perfectly around Mithos' arm. His jewel served to light the caves in which there were no glowing crystals. "This tunnel should lead to the place where your friends are."  
  
The only passage out of the cavern was filled with icy blue crystals, and the air suddenly got colder. Mithos buttoned up his coat and pulled the hood up as he shivered from the chill.  
  
"He should be here somewhere," a voice in the distance said.  
  
"Alice!" Mithos shouted, breaking into a dash down the tunnel as the freezing air whipped across his face.  
  
"Mithos! Where are you?" Kratos' voice hollered.  
  
"I'm over here, master!" Mithos called back. The tunnel suddenly came to an end at the top of a glacial shelf. Never seeing the cliff, Mithos slid right off and fell down into a larger cavern below. WHAM!  
  
"Ack," Kratos said, crushed as Mithos fell on him.  
  
"As I said, Kratos, he would be fine," Alice said.  
  
"Sorry, master. I didn't realize you were there," Mithos said, getting up on his feet.  
  
"Mithos, you have a very strong master," Alice said.  
  
"Where are we, exactly?" asked Mithos.  
  
"Celsius' cavern. Somewhere," Kratos answered.  
  
"AWOOOOO!" They turned to see the shadow of a wolf against the ice wall. The figure vanished as it headed down another passage.  
  
"I guess it wants us to follow," Mithos said. The temperature within the caverns fell with each step they took deeper into Celsius' cave. Stopping periodically, the wolf's shadow brought them to an open chamber where an underground river was flowing amidst the ice around it.  
  
"The river is moving too fast to freeze. Crossing it will be very difficult for you," Alice said.  
  
"Well, not for me." Mithos called his wings and with a running start, leaped across.  
  
"Kratos, you will have to jump with me," Alice instructed. "Follow my movements exactly and do not waste a moment." Alice pointed the end of her scythe at the river and called "Fearful Raven!" By slowing the flow of water at that point, she created a stepping-stone of ice. "Go!"  
  
"Divine Storm Blade!"  
  
"Go!"  
  
Jumping from one piece of ice to another, Kratos and Alice almost reached Mithos. Suddenly, the frozen water broke beneath Alice's foot, drawing it into the ice cold water. Kratos quickly took hold of her and used another Divine Storm Blade to reach the other side.  
  
"Your foot!" Mithos said, taking out his healing gels. He knew that even for a split second, touching the water would freeze a limb to the bone.  
  
"I will be fine, Mithos," Alice said. She rolled down her sock a little to show that her foot was already crystallized.  
  
"It seems you were saved by the exact illness we seek to cure again," Kratos remarked. Not far down the next tunnel, they finally saw the wolf itself. It had a white coat with some blue streaks. Growling, the wolf bared a set of sharp teeth. The magic seal in the middle of the room exploded with light as a human figure emerged. Her skin was pale and she had a snow-white tunic on. Extremely agile, Celsius froze anything she touched.  
  
"It has been a while since I have received visitors," a voice said.  
  
"You are Celsius, spirit of ice and snow," Alice said. 


	15. The Crystal's New Power

Chapter 15 :: The Crystal's New Power

"Celsius, we seek a pact with you," Mithos requested.  
  
"You? You are indeed very bold if you think you have the strength to challenge me. Come, Fenrir!" Celsius arrogantly replied. Her wolf leaped to her side, snarling at the travelers.  
  
"Starsword magic, activate! Star Blaze!" Mithos' sword changed into a tongue of flame that burned brightly.  
  
"Celsius is without a doubt one of the strongest elemental spirits. Do not underestimate her," Alice warned. Fenrir, the quicker of the two opponents, pounced at Kratos and pinned him to the ground. Alice and Mithos, meanwhile, both turned their attention to Celsius.  
  
"Beast!" Celsius closed in on Alice and then let loose a blast of energy that took the form of a lion head. Alice was blown back, coincidentally hitting Fenrir off Kratos. Immediately afterwards, Celsius yelled, "Freeze Lancer!"  
  
"Shadows... Solar Eclipse!" Alice countered. Celsius summoned a blue magic seal, out of which a hundred small lances of ice shot. Alice did the same, but produced a barrier spell that deflected the ice spears in all directions.  
  
"Light Spear!" Kratos jumped while spinning and swinging his sword simultaneously into Fenrir. He finished his move with a downward thrust attack, which sent the wolf hurtling into the wall.  
  
"Chaotic Abyss... Sword of Anubis," Alice calmly said. Dark energy engulfed her scythe as it took the form of a giant black sword. She effortlessly dashed across the floor to Fenrir and brought it down upon him. Ice exploded everywhere when it struck the wolf and shattered the ground.  
  
"This time, Mithos, one on one," Celsius proposed.  
  
"All right," Mithos said. The two had been exchanging blows, but neither had actually hit. Kratos took a step towards Celsius, but Alice restrained him with her hand.  
  
"This is Mithos' fight," she said.  
  
"Aaaaack!" cried Mithos. Celsius released a chilling burst of snow from her hand, blinding Mithos. Then, she came up and gave him and uppercut that sent him into the ceiling.   
  
"Absolute!"  
  
Mithos felt the air around him becoming colder than anything he had ever felt. Had it not been for the strength the Angel Crystal afforded him, Mithos would have frozen into a corpse as he was encased in a block of ice.  
  
"That the best you can do?" Celsius taunted. Mithos knew that if he remained any longer in the ice, he would not last much longer. Instead of trying to break out himself, he focused all his might into his firebrand sword. "What's this?"  
  
The Starsword's flame extended just enough to melt a hole in the ice, which allowed Mithos to move his hand and do a circular swing. The ice around him broke apart, and he made right for Celsius. Her last attack had triggered something in Mithos's crystal to activate, since his wings were glowing brighter than ever.  
  
"Starsword, lend me your power. Light of Ra!"  
  
"Immense light energy," Alice said.  
  
"I never taught him that skill," Kratos said, totally stunned at the light streaming out of Mithos' sword.  
  
"An overlimit skill? Very well, I can only pray that I survive this," Celsius said to herself.  
  
"Here I come!" Mithos yelled, swinging his sword and releasing into Celsius a brilliant rainbow beam, nearly ten times more powerful than his Prism Sword.  
  
"Unbelievable," Celsius gasped, struggling to get up.  
  
"Mithos' Angel Crystal is reaching its maximum power. I can only imagine what will happen when he gains the power of the final spirit," Alice said.  
  
"Speak... your vow..." Celsius said. Even though she was a spirit, she was in great pain after Mithos' Light of Ra attack.  
  
"So that no more innocent people will ever have to be caught in the atrocities of conflict, please lend me your power," Mithos said.  
  
"It's... yours... though I am not sure what use I will be to you," Celsius replied. Another gem fused into his sword, the sapphire from the ice spirit. Fenrir, only knocked cold by Alice's strike, returned to his master's side.  
  
"What is it that concerns you so much, Alice?" Kratos asked.  
  
"The true nature of the Angel Crystal. It seems to feed off of mana, increasing Mithos' powers, but I have never heard of it getting that powerful before. Eventually, it could grow so powerful that the crystal would take Mithos' physical existence. He would in essense become energy. I would attempt to siphon off some of it, but I am afraid that it would overwhelm me too," explained Alice. Thud! Mithos collapsed on the ice, trembling.  
  
----------------------------------------  
  
_You have overexerted yourself, Mithos.  
  
_"Erebus, what was that? I felt incredible power and suddenly, I could use that skill that defeated Celsius."  
  
Erebus turned to Mithos and their dream realm turned into the glacial cavern they had fought Celsius in. Time seemed to be frozen, for Mithos was suspended in the air with the light aura coming out of his Starsword.  
  
_The Angel Crystal you possess is capable of unleashing huge amounts of energy when the host is in grave danger. However, it draws mana directly from you, therefore causing you to collapse after the fight.   
  
Mithos... don't give up...your struggle to end this war is almost finished.  
  
_----------------------------------------  
  
Mithos awakened from his trance and saw that he was back inside the Zephyr as they were landing at the Arctic base. He had regained enough strength to make it to the cockpit.  
  
"Mithos, you had us pretty concerned back there," Kratos said.  
  
"We will be staying at the Arctic Base tonight. Darius needs to do some modifications to the Zephyr," Alice told them. She showed them down two levels from the hangar where their rooms were already set up. Unlike the other fortress, the beds were actually soft and comfortable. Once Kratos and Mithos were in their rooms, Alice headed back to meet with Darius.  
  
"The elemental fusion reactor and dark matter cannon will be fitted by tomorrow," Darius reported. "I have a small request."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"That you take me with you to Sirius. He may be a very proficient doctor, but he knows nothing about creating crests. He will require a dwarf if he is to cure your condition," Darius said.  
  
"How did you know?"  
  
"You were always one to hide your weaknesses. I knew something was up when you cut Kratos off and you were never one to just help out people. Robert Sirius is the only man who knows the cure to crystallization illness." 


	16. The Sun Goddess Appears

Chapter 16 :: The Sun Goddess Appears

--------------------------------------------------  
  
"Mithos and the others already left?" Martel asked earlier that morning. Finishing a breakfast fit for a king, Martel, Yuan, and Solstice set out from Sirius' village into the jungles.  
  
"It was Lady Enigma's idea. They wanted to get a head start since they have quite a ways to fly," Yuan said.  
  
"In that case, so should we. It will be well into the afternoon before we reach the lake where the unicorn lives," Solstice said. His long beard was all tangled up from the night's sleep. "Yuan, what on Aselia are you wearing atop your head?"  
  
"Oh, it's a hat that Sirius says keeps bugs out. I got one for you, Martel," Yuan said, giving Martel a straw hat with a net beneath it that prevented insects from passing through. "You need one, Solstice?"  
  
"I'll pass," Solstice replied, for the prospect of wearing a goofy hat did not sit well with him. Rain had passed through the jungle overnight, so the ground sloshed with mud as they proceeded into the underbrush.  
  
"You sure you don't need a bug hat?" Yuan asked. Mosquitoes buzzed around them, biting into any skin exposed. Yuan's cloak and Solstice's robes kept the insects from biting; however, Martel got a few bites on her arms. Irritated by the abundance of insects, Solstice stopped by a tree and pulled down a few gourds, which he broke open and poured their juices into one of his canteens of water.  
  
"Solstice, you'll need that water for our walk," Martel said worriedly.  
  
"As a dragon, I can survive without water, but not with these insects flying around," Solstice replied. Combining the juices with the water, Solstice added a pinch of powdered cinnamon into the solution.  
  
"You aren't starting a perfume business are you?" asked Yuan, smelling a pleasant aroma from Solstice's potion.  
  
"Are you always like this when Alice isn't around?" Solstice replied, annoyed at Yuan's talkativeness. He rubbed some of the potion on his arms and legs and then handed it to Martel. "It will help with the itching and keeps the gnats away."  
  
"Thanks, Solstice," Martel replied, using it and then passing it onto Yuan. He reluctantly accepted, but soon found out that it worked very well. The two bites he had on his hand instantly stopped itching.  
  
"Let's go. Martel and Lady Enigma aren't going to get any better if we stay here," Yuan said. A little before noon, they arrived at a waterfall in the middle of the jungle where crystal clear water cascaded from a cliff into a slow moving river. "Martel, do you need to rest?"  
  
"All right. I think we should have some lunch anyway," Martel replied.  
  
"Solstice, where are you going?" asked Yuan. Solstice turned to the forest, taking his bag with him.  
  
"I know a friend that lives around here, an old acquaintance from before the Eternal War," Solstice replied. "I trust you two will be safe here."  
  
"Please be careful, Solstice," Martel said. "I'll save some food for you."  
  
"It's hard to believe that these places still exist in this world," Yuan remarked, filling his bottle with fresh water from the river.  
  
"When Mithos was still a child training with Kratos, I would bring him to the waterfall near the temple to play my flute. It always seemed to cheer him up, since we were always short on food and had to hide every time soldiers from either side came." Martel said. "Yuan, how did you come about to be Alice's right hand man?"  
  
"It's a long story, actually. I was born into a wealthy family in Meltokio, a nobleman who fell in love with an elven songstress. Then, I began studying magic and the 'dark arts.' When my family learned of this, they notified Lord Procyon's Black Phoenix Knights, merciless slayers of half-elves," Yuan narrated. "They were about to execute me, but miraculously Lady Enigma and her ghosts heard about my dark magic abilities and rescued me. If it had not been for them, my part in this tale would have ended right there."  
  
"How cruel this world is..."  
  
"Martel, what do you wish to do when all of this ends?"  
  
"Maybe, when the world learns to accept all kinds of people, elves, half-elves, and humans, I will be able to rest. Until then, I am but a simple cleric and healer. Sometimes, our struggle seems hopeless."  
  
Yuan sat down next to Martel.  
  
"I'll be beside you ever step of the way... no matter what happens. That's a promise I intend to keep."  
  
"Thank you... Yuan."  
  
"Do you see now that these children are the seeds of the future, Amaterasu?" Solstice said. He appeared with a woman wearing a floral print kimono. Her long black hair reached down to the ground, whilst she cooled herself with a broad wooden fan. Gently smiling, Amaterasu radiated with a warm glow. 


	17. Amaterasu's Trial

Chapter 17 : Amaterasu's Trial

"They both have strong ideals... but what of their wills?" Amaterasu asked Solstice.  
  
"They are also very strong willed," Solstice replied.  
  
"Yuan, that is your name, correct?" Amaterasu said to Yuan.  
  
"Yes... I'm a little confused; what's happening here, Solstice?" Yuan asked.  
  
"Amaterasu, servant of the light spirit Luna, is the mother of the Unicorn," Solstice explained. "She wishes to bestow upon you the right to use her magic."  
  
"Only if they can prove that they have the will to protect each other," Amaterasu said.  
  
"We're going to fight you?" Martel asked.  
  
"Only, Yuan and Martel. If they can defeat my light, I will lend them my power," she answered. "Solstice, interfere and I will ensure that you suffer."  
  
"I understand, master," Solstice replied.  
  
"It has been long since you called me that, student," Amaterasu said, floating over the river.  
  
"Ready, Yuan?" Martel clutched her staff tightly.  
  
"Ready." Yuan's connected his double blade together and cast off his cloak. Both of them removed their bug net hats.  
  
"Go!" Amaterasu shouted, as two swords of light appeared in her hand. "Light... Photon!"  
  
"Light... Photon!" Martel countered. Four rings, two from Amaterasu and the other two from Martel, materialized between them and collapsed. Next, a burst of light exploded as both attacks canceled.  
  
"Raven!" Yuan held his palm out as a ball of lightning formed in front of him. Out of that sphere came three dark beams, striking Amaterasu in the heart and hands.  
  
"Isis' Protection!" Amaterasu said. Her body absorbed the darkness, infusing its energy into her swords. "Here I come, Yuan." Yuan instantly held his double blade in a defensive stance. Flying faster than he could see, Amaterasu danced from right to left and back again, evading all of his attempts to swipe at her. Meanwhile, blasts of light streaked through the air from the tip of Martel's staff. "Diviner!"  
  
"Yuan!" Martel cried. At close range, Amaterasu pelted Yuan with a thousand thrusts of her sword, all within the span of a few seconds.  
  
"I'm all right," Yuan said. His face and arms were bruised and cut from Amaterasu's attack.  
  
"I know you have it within you," Amaterasu said to Yuan. Her figure flashed and reappeared in front of Martel.  
  
"Get away from her!" Yuan shouted. Amaterasu saw that he was charging up another Raven attack. "Spirit of Darkness!"  
  
"Isis' Protection." She crossed both her swords over her body.  
  
"Yuan, she's only going to absorb it," Martel said.  
  
"I know, but I've never tried this powerful of a Raven spell before," Yuan replied. The sphere of lightning grew larger and larger, until it exploded into seven black arcs. "Fearful Raven!"  
  
"Advanced Shadow Magic!" Amaterasu said, taken completely off guard. She absorbed the first beam, but it immediately turned both her swords black. They exploded into shards of light, for Amaterasu had taken in too much magic. When the remaining six touched her, they pulled out most of Amaterasu's mana.  
  
"Now's our chance, time your light attack with mine!" Yuan instructed. "I call upon you from the land of the dead to strike my enemy down with dark thunder..."  
  
"Rays of light, cleanse this battlefield..."  
  
"Indignation!"  
  
"Ray!"  
  
A giant blue magic seal appeared under Amaterasu as a pair of lights spiraled to the sky above her. Meanwhile beams of light rained like meteors. Down came a blinding flash of lightning, hitting Amaterasu with the most powerful magic Yuan could muster.  
  
"Prism Stars!" Martel and Yuan called together. A hundred sparks of light formed around Amaterasu and one by one shot through her.  
  
"She's defeated," Solstice said.  
  
"You were right, Solstice," Amaterasu said. As a spirit, she did not incur any injuries from the bout. Amaterasu floated over to Yuan and put her hand on his forehead. "Roots of creation... the breath of life... Revitalize..." Yuan's cuts instantly healed from her incredible light magic.  
  
"Are we to make a vow so we can summon you?" Martel asked.  
  
"I am not a full fledged spirit like Luna, and I cannot be summoned. However, I ask that you two make a vow to each other, which will serve as the basis for my power," Amaterasu said.  
  
"Um... to each other?" Yuan said.  
  
"Yes, the only way two people can achieve victory over my light is if they care enough for each other that they are willing to give their own life up... true love," Amaterasu responded.  
  
"All right then... I swear true love to the one I will always stand with... Martel!" Yuan declared.  
  
"And I will never turn back from our dreams of a new world as long as Yuan is with me," Martel said.  
  
"Yuan, take this ring, and Martel, this bracelet," Amaterasu said. "The sword of light's fury, the Blade of Osiris, is contained in that ring. Martel, you now have the shield that guards life, Isis' Protection."  
  
"Thank you, Amaterasu," Yuan said.  
  
"Yes. We will treasure these mementos always," Martel added.  
  
"Yuan, give this to Mithos, a key that lets him into the tower of the thunder spirit Volt," Amaterasu said. "A word in private, Solstice." After placing a silver key with the blade shaped like a bolt of lightning, she and Solstice headed into the jungles and left Yuan and Martel by the waterfall.  
  
"You have seen the coming darkness also, didn't you?" Solstice said.  
  
"Yes, what we have done may have set into motion a series of events that impacts lives thousands of years into the future," Amaterasu said. "My perception of the future is dimming. A dark dawn is coming to this world."  
  
"What do you intend to do?" asked Solstice.  
  
"Entrust the rest of my mana into the seeds of the future. I will raise little Keiko Fujibayashi to be a great summoner and the leader of her village." Amaterasu replied. "I will see you again, Solstice. I am glad that I was able to pass on my gift to Yuan and Martel." 


	18. The Unicorn

Chapter 18 :: The Unicorn

"Farewell," Solstice said solemnly as Amaterasu faded into a soft light. When he returned to the two, his nose was met with a different kind of surprise. With a strike of lightning, Yuan started a cooking fire for Martel.  
  
"What's that?" Yuan asked.  
  
"The secret to all my cooking, spices that I grew at the temple," Martel answered, sprinkling some herbs from a leather pouch over a piece of preserved boar meat. Following a meal that even someone who was not stuck in the middle of a jungle would find delicious, the three continued their sojourn into the jungle. Raindrops fell from the overcast sky with a pitter-patter onto the broad leaves of the trees.  
  
"It should not be far," Solstice said, late in the afternoon. They had walked for three hours straight, treading through thick brush while the rain fell on their heads. A strange, yet soothing mist started to slowly form as they neared their destination. From a distance, they gazed upon a lake of silvery water, reflecting the cloudy sky. The surface remained perfectly waveless, save for the ripples caused by the raindrops.  
  
"I don't see a unicorn," said Yuan.  
  
"You must not proceed any further, for only Martel can do this," Solstice explained. Martel took a step forward, placing her sandals down and walking barefoot into the lake until it was at her ankles.  
  
_You have come...Martel._  
  
At the center of the lake, the unicorn emerged and shook off the water from its white mane. His mouth made no movements when it spoke, but Martel could clearly hear him in her mind. She felt her feet being lifted to the surface by the Unicorn's magic, floating her to the animal at the center of the lake.  
  
_I require your help to save a friend. _Martel thought to the Unicorn.  
  
_Are you not also ill?  
  
Yes, but it will be months before I am in any danger. Alice needs your healing powers more.  
  
Then you are the first to approach me with such a desire.  
  
What do you mean?  
  
In the past, those who have approached me have done so only because they want to use my healing mana to gain immortality. You are the first to desire a selfless wish. I will give you my horn, and in doing so, I will pass onto the next world.  
  
One life to save another... I don't know if I will be willing to...  
  
Do not fear, child. As one unicorn passes its gift of life, a new one is born. I see you have mastered Amaterasu's magic. Combine my horn's mana with Amaterasu's and you will be able to heal your friend... and yourself.  
  
Thank you. Though I barely know you...  
  
Perhaps one day, one of my descendants will be able to lend a hand to another of selfless heart.  
  
_The Unicorn's horn separated from its body and drifted into Martel's hand like a snowflake.  
  
"Goodbye," Martel said.  
  
"Goodbye, child," the Unicorn replied, disappearing into the thickening mist. Martel carried the horn back to the lake's shore, though her usual bright smile was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"How come you look so gloomy, Martel?" Yuan asked.  
  
"She knows now the price it will take to save her and Alice, one life for two," Solstice said.  
  
"No. One life, but not only for two. This unicorn gave its life in the hopes that we may end this war."  
  
"We should set up camp here tonight. The jungle is dangerous to travel in the dark," Solstice advised. 


	19. Sirius' Medicine

Chapter 19 :: Sirius' Medicine

-------------------------------------------------  
  
"Where is Alice?" Kratos asked the next morning. The sun rose high in the sky, yet she had not awakened. Mithos had actually gotten up on time, if one could call 10 o'clock on time. Mithos came into the hangar after finishing his breakfast, hoping to get a good seat on the flight back to Sirius and see his sister again.  
  
"She overslept?" Mithos suggested.  
  
"Lady Enigma would never oversleep," Darius said. The dwarf wore a thick fur coat instead of his usual lab gear.  
  
"I am all right, Kratos," Alice said, teleporting into the hangar. During the night, the crystallization spread beyond her neck to parts of her face.  
  
"You are most certainly not," Darius angrily said. "I will take charge of the Zephyr since you are in no condition to fly."  
  
"Really, I can..." Alice started, but this time Mithos interrupted.  
  
"Miss Alice, I think you should rest for the trip back. The passenger compartment is quite comfy," Mithos said.  
  
"I guess if you put it that way, I don't have much of a choice," Alice said.  
  
"Kratos, is it? I will need a navigator," Darius requested.  
  
"Perhaps Mithos would be a better choice. Technology is for the young," Kratos answered.  
  
While Kratos and Alice went to the cabin below, Darius took the pilot seat on the right while Mithos got in the chair beside him. Being just 14 years old, some of the instruments were out of his reach. Mithos then looked at his partner, who was shorter than him and out of reach of _all_ the instruments.  
  
"The Zephyr responds to voice commands, mainly. I don't know why Lady Enigma prefers to do things manually," Darius said. "Seal hatch, open hangar door."  
  
"Hatch sealing, hangar door opening," a computerized voice replied. There was a hiss as the doors closed and a click as they locked. Before them the Arctic Base's metal doors opened with a creak to the outside.  
  
"Wow, it's just like some of the futuristic stories Martel read to me about people traveling to other planets," Mithos said excitedly. Darius explained the function of all the panels to Mithos. Some of them guided the airship, while others controlled the two beam cannons directly under the cockpit.  
  
"You had better not say 'Fire Dark Matter Cannon,' understand?" Darius said.  
  
"Acknowledged, firing dark matter cannon."  
  
Two black beams fired from the cannons and hit an iceberg at sea, sending it to the bottom of the ocean.  
  
"Well, better not try that again," Darius said. "Take flight."  
  
The Zephyr's brand new engines ignited and roared with flame. Pushed forward slowly at first, the airship then rocketed out into the sky.  
  
"How is Mithos doing?" Alice asked Kratos. A blanket covered her as she lay on a couch below.  
  
"Darius seems to be doing a good job teaching him," Kratos answered.  
  
"Wahoo!" Mithos shouted. Darius let him take over for a moment, and Mithos seemed to do just fine steering the aircraft.  
  
"Now, don't tell it to make such sharp turns, Mithos," Darius instructed. Finally, after a few hours in the air at hypersonic speed, the Zephyr touched down in the center of Sirius' village. The residents, surprised that a warship had landed, briskly returned to their homes. Darius set the airship to turn invisible as soon as they got off.  
  
"We can only hope that Martel's group succeeded," Kratos said.  
  
"Yuan has a perfect mission record. I doubt he will do anything to tarnish that," Alice said. "After all, he is my successor."  
  
Alice and Kratos disembarked first, going directly to the villa of the governor. Mithos and Darius followed behind, hauling the box that contained the Zircon crystal.  
  
"Has my sister returned, yet?" Mithos asked George at the gate.  
  
"We're right here, Mithos," Martel said, with Yuan at her side and Solstice behind them. Alice's eyes spotted the ring on Yuan's hand.  
  
"A gift from Amaterasu," Solstice said.  
  
"Yuan, I have told you to be wary of magic rings that bestow power upon you. You may end up becoming the next overlord of Aselia," Alice said. Her voice grew hoarse from the infection reaching her vocal chords.  
  
"It's not an evil ring, Lady Enigma. Martel and I..." Yuan replied.  
  
"I see. My student found someone to love before his teacher did, how pathetic of me," Alice said with a grin. "You should be proud to have someone like Martel."  
  
"Um... shouldn't we first do something about your Chronic Angelus... disease?" Martel asked.  
  
"I have the laboratory prepared in the basement," Lord Sirius said, dressed in his lab coat and wearing a pair of thick spectacles. Darius stepped forward and presented the Zircon crystal.  
  
"I'm Darius, chief scientist for Enigma's Ghosts," he said. "I've had a lot of experience creating crests."  
  
"All right, I'll need to have Martel and Alice lie down in their rooms while we prepare," Sirius replied. Sirius and Darius went into a spiral staircase to the cellar of his villa while Mithos, Kratos, Yuan, and Solstice waited above with the patients. An hour later, Sirius returned with two small jewelry boxes.  
  
"It's ready," he said. Sirius placed the gold crest onto Alice's neck first and a second crest onto Martel. "I will stay here with them overnight to monitor the progress. With any luck, the disease will be permanently cured tomorrow."  
  
Night fell on the village, so Mithos retired to his guest room a floor above where Alice and Martel were sleeping. With much work to do at the Arctic Base, Darius returned on one of the Zephyr's four Rheairds. Just as Mithos was about to get in bed, his nose caught the smell of something burning in the air.  
  
"What on earth?" Mithos exclaimed. An ear-shattering explosion tore through the gates to Sirius' mansion. Mithos got dressed again, taking his Starsword. Kratos and Yuan already stood at the door with their weapons drawn.  
  
"What's happening?" Solstice inquired, coming down the stairs with agility unknown to a man of his age.  
  
"We'll know soon enough, but it seems like some of Macerdon's soldiers have marched into town," Yuan said. He backed up to the side of the door, waiting to ambush anyone coming in through the front.  
  
"When that door opens, I want you to Divine Storm Blade with me, understand?" Kratos said to Mithos. Both took their stances with one foot forward and the other behind. His hands gripped the sword's handle firmly. BANG! An explosion hit the lock on the door and someone on the outside attempted to push it open. "Go!" 


	20. Treachery of the Black Phoenix

Chapter 20 :: Treachery of the Black Phoenix

"Divine Storm Blade!" Kratos and Mithos shouted together, striking the door down and crushing the soldiers on the other side. Yuan and Solstice sprinted out behind them.  
  
"Filthy half-elf scum," the commander, a tall human with a gold helmet and silver armor, muttered as the falling door smashed two of his soldiers.  
  
"Procyon," Kratos said.  
  
"Lord Kratos, there's no way you could be here. The report said you were killed at Heimdall," Procyon responded.  
  
"Lord Procyon, most of the city is now under our control," a knight in black armor said.  
  
"Excellent, burn everything to the ground," Procyon ordered. "Kill any half-elves on sight."  
  
At this point, Lord Sirius appeared from his house. He still had on the same clothes from earlier that day.  
  
"What's the meaning of this, Lord Procyon? The Black Phoenix Knights are not allowed to enter cities," Sirius said.  
  
"The king and his chancellor have granted me an exception when he found out you were harboring agents of Enigma's Ghosts," Procyon answered. "I knew you were soft on half-elves, but who knew that the honorable doctor would actually aid terrorists."  
  
"Enigma's Ghosts isn't a terrorist organization! That's just propaganda that you ignorant humans created to justify starting the war," Yuan angrily shouted. He took a step forward, but Kratos stopped him.  
  
"Lord Procyon is the one who taught me the technique Divine Storm Blade. He is known as the God of Destruction and has never lost a fight in real combat," Kratos said.  
  
"So now you have sided with these halflings too, Kratos. Good, I will be able to dispose of both traitors in one excursion. Lord Sirius, if you value the lives of your subjects, you will forfeit your own."  
  
"We can take him together," Mithos said.  
  
"Clear out and observe, soldiers. You are about to witness the true power of Lord Procyon. Kratos, you will have wished you stayed with me."  
  
Procyon's black sword radiated with an aura of darkness when he took a few swings through the air to demonstrate its power.  
  
"I regret nothing," Kratos answered, drawing Dragon's Tear.  
  
"Rising Phoenix!" Procyon called. The aura around his sword changed to flame and released a firebird that scorched its way across the field to Kratos. It lifted him into the air and struck him from behind, sending Kratos crashing into the hard ground. "I don't think so, kid." He predicted that Mithos would attack and intercepted him before he could swing his sword.  
  
"It's like he can read our every move," Yuan said, just as Procyon reflected his Raven spell into the villa wall.  
  
"Terra sirr zephos, ralf tal arthos! Atlas!" Solstice called, summoning terrible cutting winds to slash all around Procyon. Unable to escape, he held his ground until it faded off.  
  
"I would have expected more from a dragon, or has your time on the surface weakened you?" taunted Procyon. "Watch this... Sword of Tartarus." Drawing on the inferno in the deepest level of Hades, Procyon's sword stabbed into the ground and sent streaks of black fire in every direction.  
  
"Guardian!" Mithos called, creating a barrier around him so the flames brushed past him.  
  
"Attacking in sequence will do us no good," Kratos said.  
  
"Divine Storm Blade!" At the same time, Mithos and Kratos dashed forward and vanished into a blur.  
  
"Divine Storm Blade!" Procyon countered, disappearing also.  
  
"Where are they? I can't see them," Yuan said.  
  
"Neither can I; their movements must be extremely fast," Solstice replied. They heard the clashing of steel to mithril and then saw a flash of light. Mithos was tossed clear of Procyon by the broad side of his sword.   
  
"Ha, is that it?" Procyon boasted, before realizing his fatal mistake. Kratos materialized behind him and stabbed his sword through the weak spot in the back of his armor, nailing his heart. "Die, Lord Sirius!" Too late to stop him, Procyon hurled his black sword into Sirius, slaying him instantly.  
  
"I will take it from here," a deep voice said. Appearing out of a glowing blue magic seal, a man in a black cloak with glowing red eyes took hold of Procyon's body. The rest of his body, including his face, was hidden in his garments. A few of the Black Phoenix Knights approached him, but he held out a single hand. "Apocalyptic Prophecy." They screamed in terrible pain as he pulled the life right out of them so all that remained were their skeletons.  
  
"And just who the heck are you?" Yuan demanded.  
  
"An attack on Meltokio will begin in two days. You have until then to stop Delthis," the mysterious figure coolly answered. He slipped back through the magic portal with Procyon.  
  
"The village?" asked Mithos. Of the several hundred people living there, only twelve survived the attack from Procyon's knights. No building was left to stand save for the villa and even the next morning, the city was still in flames. As the sun rose, the smoke made it seem like nighttime. Throughout the night, Mithos could only rest for a bit on the grass.  
_  
A city will fall to the flames of injustice and a champion will be slain.  
  
_


	21. An Electrifying Tower

Chapter 21 :: An Electrifying Tower

"It's time to get up, Mithos," Kratos said. Mithos lay on the grass, sleeping peacefully from last night's battle. The survivors of the disaster all gathered in the gardens where Sirius' servants handed out food and water. Alice and Martel, fully recovered from their condition, came out of the mansion to find the doctor slain and the village burned down.  
  
"I see. Then we must go directly to the final seal, the tower of Volt," Alice said, hearing the story of last night.  
  
"If we can do that, the war's over right?" asked Mithos.  
  
"At least magitechnology will be dead," Kratos said.  
  
"Yuan, get the Zephyr ready to take off," Alice said. Thankfully, the Zephyr's invisibility barrier held during the firestorm and they were up in the air in no time. The airship headed west over the mountains to an island off the coast.  
  
"Are you all right?" Martel asked Mithos, both in the cabin of the Zephyr. After the destruction of the village, Mithos barely said a word during the flight.  
  
"How many more like Sirius have to throw away their lives?" Mithos asked. "We could have stopped Procyon. If I could have been out there earlier, maybe I would have been able to save him."  
  
"And that is how our past is written. History is full of 'what ifs' and 'if onlys.' Time is like a river, constantly flowing from one event to another faster than we can even think. You will never be able to change the past, but your actions can still affect the future," Solstice said.  
  
"But I don't think you ever had to face being powerless when so many were slaughtered," Mithos said.  
  
"Do I? Not a day passes when I don't regret failing to stop this war before it started. It is a burden I will carry for the rest of my life."  
  
"Mithos, you can't blame yourself. Procyon alone bears the responsibility for his crime," Martel reassured him.  
  
"Aside from Kratos, Sirius was our only human friend," Mithos said.  
  
"Everyone, we're about to land," Yuan called from the cockpit above. The Tower of Lightning was left to dilapidate since it was first constructed in honor of the lightning's spirit. Collapsed columns littered the entranceway and long strands of vines ran to the top.  
  
"There's definitely a strong electric force here," Solstice said. His white hair stood on its end because of static electricity. Mithos approached Martel and as he held out his hand, a small electric shock jumped from his finger to her hand.  
  
"Ow!" Martel was fine but they figured it best not to stand close to each other in this place.  
  
"Mithos, open the door with this key," Yuan instructed, handing him Amaterasu's key. Mithos held the key and put it into the tower's door. Instantly, it sent a strong shock through him.  
  
"Aaaaaaaawwwwaaaaaawwwwwwaaaa," Mithos said. He let go of the key and saw that his hair was spread out in all directions.  
  
"You guys probably want to stand back," Martel said, pushing the door open with the bejeweled end of her staff. "There we go."  
  
They entered a vast chamber in which lightning arced from wall to wall.  
  
"Do not touch anything or you will risk becoming a human lightning rod," Alice warned. From the entrance there were three staircases parallel to each other. The left one led to a dead end while the center one led to the adjacent chamber. The right one, reaching the greatest height, also led to a dead end. Pedestals rested on all three passages, but only the center one had metal spike at the top.  
  
"Well this doesn't take a genius to figure out," Mithos said, running for the center staircase.  
  
"Hold it right there," Kratos said, grabbing Mithos' collar.  
  
"Martel, can you fire your staff into that tile?" Yuan asked. Martel leveled her staff, took aim, and shot a burst of light. CRACK! A fork of lightning speared from the ceiling into the metal spire, charging the pedestal with electricity. It then discharged a ball of lightning in the direction of Mithos and Kratos.  
  
"Get down, kid," Kratos said, dragging him to the floor as the ball of lightning passed over them.  
  
"Ow... did you have to do it that hard?" Mithos replied.  
  
"According to basic physics, lightning strikes at the highest position," Yuan said.  
  
"You're a physicist?" Martel asked.  
  
"No... Just happens that I listen in a lot when Lady Enigma and Darius are talking about the latest invention. It's boring actually," he replied. Alice jumped to the right staircase and with a smooth motion, struck the lever on the pedestal with her scythe. Out came another metal lightning rod. After Alice returned, Martel fired her shooting staff again. This time, however, the lightning hit the upper most staircase to charge the pedestal. The ball of lightning hit no one, and allowed them to pass safely into the next room. Two sets of stairs ran up to a center platform where the seal was carved into the floor while another door led deeper into the temple.  
  
"Something's wrong. Volt's not here," Mithos said, flying up to examine the seal.  
  
"Mithos, I think we should go in further," Solstice called from below. After the seal room, they came to a chamber with a large pool of water. A lightning rod stood in the center of the pool while six inactive pedestals stood on the small circular platform at the entrance. Suddenly, the ground tremored and the tiles under their feet lifted themselves into the air. Behind them, the entrance sealed with a large slab of stone.  
  
"We're about to have a battle here," Yuan said.  
  
"Geez, what makes you think that?" Mithos said. "Sorry... spent too much time with Gnome."  
  
The tiles assembled themselves into the shape of a man, brought to life by a bolt of electricity. The "head" of the golem possessed a single eye made only of a glowing outline.  
  
"It's a mindless drone, so it shouldn't be too... whoa!" Yuan started. The arms of the golem broke into tiles and spun into Yuan like boomerangs. As he tried in vain to attack the tiles, they effortlessly evaded him perfectly. "On the other hand, each of them seems to have a mind of their own."  
  
The golem turned its attention to Mithos, who had sprouted wings and began to take down individual tiles still attached to the body. The tiles apparently could not act independently when they were part of the golem. All the tiles fell to the floor in a big pile. A ring of blocks surrounded Mithos while others were attaching themselves top and bottom. Finally, it assembled itself into a sphere with spikes around the sides shooting electricity everywhere. Inside, Mithos endured shock after shock from the monster.  
  
"On three, we break it open," Alice said to Solstice. "One... two... three!"  
  
"Terra areas tal sorra! Grave!"  
  
"Fearful Raven."  
  
The blocks immediately fell apart again, so it was Mithos that took the blows from Alice and Solstice. Fortunately, both held back at the last minute, and he was not badly hurt from that incident.  
  
"In total, we've only damaged a few tiles. How do we beat this thing?" Martel said.  
  
"Don't know, Martel. Even if we could destroy every block, it has hundreds more around the room to pull from. We could try destroying that eye block," Yuan suggested.  
  
"I've got it," Kratos replied, jumping and slashing into the golem's eye. The shards fell to the floor and shattered, but a new block rose to take its place. Blocks surrounded him, creating a prison in the shape of a cube. The golem's arm grabbed the cube and threw it like a baseball towards the pool. At the very last moment before it hit the brine, the blocks separated and let Kratos fall.  
  
"Master!" Mithos yelled. Kratos managed to hang onto one of the blocks as it tried desperately to dump him by twisting all around the room.  
  
"I know how to beat it," Yuan said. He noticed that one of the tiles had gone too close to the water and received an electric shock from being dipped in it. When that happened, the other pieces simultaneously had an arc of electricity jump across their surfaces. "Knock the eye tile into the water."  
  
With her shooting staff, Martel blew the block off the head of the golem, but made sure not to damage it. Then Alice bounced off the wall to knock it over to Mithos who had his sword ready.  
  
"Starsword Magic, activate! Star Tornado!" Holding his sword like a bat, Mithos smashed the tile clear into the far end of the pool.  
  
"Kratos, jump!" Solstice called. Kratos let go and tumbled onto the platform as his ride broke into pieces. Since the leader block had been dunked in the charged water, each of the other blocks suffered a powerful electric shock. One by one, they fell dormant.  
  
"Hey, guys," Martel said at a lever in the wall. "Why didn't we see this before?" The lever was labeled TILE MONSTER EMERGENCY SHUTOFF.  
  
"Great, so much for my brilliant idea," Yuan said. The six dormant pedestals now changed to the active position with their lightning rods pointed to the ceiling. A huge sphere of electricity appeared over them, emitting a buzzing noise.


	22. The Final Spirit

Chapter 22 :: The Final Spirit

"It's trying to say something," Alice said.  
  
"It? That's just a ball of lightning," Mithos replied. The sphere turned to show that it possessed two glowing eyes.  
  
"Then that must be the lightning spirit," Martel said.  
  
"Volt!" Yuan finished.  
  
"Its thoughts are in an ancient dialect of Elvish. I can't really make out what it's trying to say," Alice said.  
  
"Can you link it to me?" Solstice said. Alice's mind reached into Volt and Solstice at the same time. "I see. Ralf munel... my power... kural lifa... destroy life... sectaral.... wars."  
  
"Volt's power is used in nearly all magitechnology. He must no longer desire to serve the warring nations," Martel surmised.  
  
"Pharl sordesh... your friends... anthi munel kural ralf... find the strength to defeat me," Solstice continued.  
  
"And here it comes!" Mithos cried. Volt came down like a cannonball and pitched a bolt of lightning into each of the six pedestals. They in turn emitted a web of electrified beams on the floor.  
  
"Take care not to step on those. They are charged with ten thousand volts of electricity," Alice cautioned.  
  
"I'll show it how we fight summon spirits," Mithos proclaimed, calling his wings and slashing at Volt with the wind incarnation of the Starsword.  
  
"Mithos, you can't hurt it that way," Kratos said, too late to stop him. Mithos's sword, at the core a metal weapon, conducted Volt's electricity into his body and gave him a terrible shock. Martel hopped over the web of lightning to heal him.  
  
"Why couldn't Volt be a giant electric rat?" Mithos commented.  
  
"We could use magic. You all stay back and let the three of us fight him," Yuan said. "Dragon of eternal darkness, I call on your strength... Fafnir's Breath!"  
  
"Dragon of the endless abyss, I call on your strength... Fafnir's Fury!" Alice chanted. Both dark wizards changed held their hands out as a black mass in the shape of a dragon lunged forward into Volt's heart. "You're still one step below me, Yuan."  
  
"And you are both amateurs compared to my skills. Asgard sirr frostal, Celsius, frosta siralas tal Volt. Absolute!" Solstice yelled, freezing Volt in a block of ice. Incredibly weakened by the three attacks, Volt shrunk to a quarter of his size. By now Mithos was back up and ready to join the fight.  
  
"Mithos, just let Yuan and them handle it," Martel urged.  
  
"No, I'm the pact-maker. I'll have to fight him," Mithos said. Volt lowered himself to the center of the room and sent a thunderbolt into the spires again. This time, they all fired a blast of electricity into him. With only a few charges, Volt returned to his full strength.  
  
"Impossible!" Yuan exclaimed. He took as step back as Volt turned to him, but suddenly realized he was about to step on a lightning thread.  
  
"Yuan, watch out!" Martel cried. Yuan stumbled backwards, then seeing yet another strand of lightning, continued moving back. At the very last second Volt shot a powerful electric attack at him, which both electrocuted Yuan and blew him over the ledge into the water.  
  
"Spirit of the worlds oceans, I summon thee! Come, Undine!" Mithos hastily said. Ripples appeared in the water as Undine emerged. Yuan was still falling when she called for the waters to split and create a dry spot for him to land.  
  
"I can't hold this back much longer, Mithos, with all this lightning going through me," Undine said. Yuan quickly jumped back up and landed in front of Volt.  
  
"Here's an idea. What if we gave him a good old dunking?" Yuan suggested.  
  
"Right, his electric energy will discharge into the water," Alice replied.  
  
"But how do you think we will be able to move him? The golem had a physical form, while Volt is pure energy," Kratos said.  
  
"Electricity is bipolar. If we send a negative charge into the water, Volt will naturally be attracted," Alice said.  
  
"My Indignation, a dark lightning spell, should do just the trick," Yuan said. "But he has to be close enough for this to work."  
  
"Master and I will lure him close," Mithos said.  
  
"Wait, I'll help too. Isis' Protection!" Martel called. Everyone was surrounded by a warm aura, the same as Amaterasu's. "You'll be able to absorb one hit."  
  
"Let's hope that's all we need. Sorral hydros, defreas! Lightning Wall!" With Martel and Alice behind him, Solstice erected a barrier of lightning bolts bearing the same charge as Volt's power. Repelled by the barricade, Volt pulled in all the energy from the pedestals before chasing Kratos and Mithos to the edge of the platform.  
  
"I call upon the spirits in the land of the dead to strike my enemy down with dark lightning... Indignation!" Yuan shouted, sending a black lightning bolt into the pool of water. It was charged with such powerful energy that his hair stood on its end just being so close to it.  
  
"Let's roll, master!" Mithos said.  
  
"Divine Storm Blade!"  
  
"Divine Storm Blade!"  
  
"Dragon's Encircle!"  
  
By touching the wall around the pool for only a millisecond before making the next step, Mithos and Kratos made the illusion that they were running on it. Volt chased his quarry at the same time pulled by the negative charge. His lightning shot out and struck both Mithos and Kratos dead on.  
  
"Hey, that actually felt good," Mithos said, absorbing the attack with Isis' Protection. Kratos and Mithos returned to the platform while Volt was drawn into the pool. As soon as he hit the water, all of his energy discharged, providing them with a dazzling light show. Defeated, Volt reappeared above them as a smaller sphere.  
  
"He's saying something. Solstice, translate for me," Alice said.  
  
"Asgard magus... summoner of gods... creas pharl incar sirr eterna lifa... create the words binding you for eternity," Solstice interpreted.  
  
"In order so that nobody will have to suffer from war or discrimination again, I as that you give me your strength," Mithos declared.  
  
"Phar freytal. Eterna sectaral creas felsa. Tal arc. Thank you. May you bring an end to this eternal war. Good luck," Solstice said.  
  
"So, I'm hoping our airship still works," Mithos said.  
  
"Don't worry. That new elemental fusion dealy that Darius put in makes us independent from the summon spirits. We instead harness the power that lies at the very smallest level of existence," Alice replied. They left the tower of Volt to find a second airship, an identical copy of the modified Zephyr, waiting for them.  
  
"Lady Enigma, Lord Yuan!" Darius saluted. 


	23. The End of the Eternal War Part 1

Chapter 23 :: The End of the Eternal War (Part 1)

"Is the war's over?" Mithos asked.  
  
"I am afraid we are bearers of bad news. While it may be true that both sides no longer possess magitechnology, the armies of the Desians and the human-elven alliance are fighting it out on foot or Arshis mounts around Meltokio," Darius said.  
  
"Arshis mounts?" Martel said.  
  
"They are an evolved form of protozoan that look like dogs with large ears. Lord Kepler was riding one when we met in the desert," Kratos said.  
  
"Dusk, with the Knights of Thor under his command, is spearing through the human and elven legions. They will not be far from the gates by the time we arrive," Darius explained.  
  
"How many did you bring?" Alice asked.  
  
"Alpha and Beta Teams."  
  
"Just two infiltration squads?" Yuan said, surprised that he had only come with twenty of Enigma's Ghosts.  
  
"They will be enough. We should try to convince King Antares to put down his arms and end this fighting," Alice said. "Alpha team will board the Zephyr. Beta will remain on the new ship."  
  
"The Trident," Darius corrected her. Darius returned to his own airship and promptly took flight. Onboard the Zephyr, Mithos, Kratos, Martel, and Solstice shared their passenger cabin with ten cloaked soldiers of Enigma's Ghosts. Most had battle hardened faces, though they seemed to be relaxed at the moment. A couple in the back were playing a game of chess.  
  
"So, we are about to head into the climactic battle of the Eternal War," a woman said to her subordinates. Under her hood, she masked a scar over her cheek and she held a pair of daggers at her side. "All right, everyone. I expect you to do your best for the sake of peace in our world."  
  
Even Mithos joined in when they gave a resounding, "Aye aye!"  
  
"Check your stabilizer, Yuan. We're off balance by zero decimal zero zero zero one starboard," Alice instructed.  
  
"Compensating for wing instability now," Yuan replied. Though Alice was the last to be smiling, she looked unusually glum.  
  
"A twilight is coming from which I cannot see a sunrise," she said. "Yuan, I have taught you all you need to know. Protect Martel and carry on the mission of the Ghosts."  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Yuan asked.  
  
"Lady Enigma, we're getting some weird readings here," Darius said over the projector. The air in front of them distorted and revealed a hidden Delthis airship. It was a new class of warship, equipped with diamond plating armor. However, this one had caught fire and descended into the jungle below where it was consumed by an explosion.  
  
"That was the prototype air cruiser Drake," Alice said.  
  
"Yeah, looks like their elemental fusion reactor melted down," Darius replied.  
  
They came out of a cloud layer to find the forces of the Desians surrounding the towering city of Meltokio. They may not have had magic cannons, but the Desians unleashed crude, yet equally effective, catapults.  
  
"Lord Kepler, the human phalanx is broken!" a soldier reported on the ground. Delthis' famous Knights of Thor rode on their Arshis mounts, chasing the humans back through the gates of the city. Kepler closed in on the commander of the defense force, striking him off his horse with his lance. Arshis mounts galloped faster than a horse and they were more resilient.  
  
"Archers!" came a cry out from his ranks. On the walls of the city, a hundred elves took precise aim with their mithril tipped arrows.  
  
"Raise your shield!" Kepler yelled. Like a deadly hailstorm of metal spikes, the archers let fly their arrows. For every arrow a knight deflected with his shield, five landed either on his Arshis or penetrated his armor. Kepler could only watch as men fell around him by the dozen on the plains around Meltokio.  
  
"Sir! We're being outgunned by these elves," Kepler's second-in-command said. He had an arrow in his arm and his Arshis had been pierced twice. On the walls, the archers loaded for another volley. Kepler saw the fear in his men's eyes, and then raised his spear.  
  
"Fall back to the main line!" Kepler ordered. He nudged his ride to turn back and sprint for the main Delthis phalanx. "Go, Noishe! You've never failed me before and I won't let you down now."  
  
"What's the matter, Kepler? I thought your soldiers were perfect," Lord Dusk taunted. He wore light mithril breastplate with a sword sheathed at his belt. Dusk, the same general that appeared at the sea battle ordering Midgard Serpent's release, readied his army of ten thousand to storm the city. Two red flares and a green flare shot over them as both Zephyr and Trident approached Meltokio.  
  
"Alice is here. Signal- red, red, blue, green, red!" Kepler commanded. To the rear of Dusk's legion, a line of colored flares streamed into the air.  
  
"Red, red, blue, green, red," Yuan read to Alice.  
  
"So Kepler wants us to go for the walls. Charge cannon to 40 percent, fire!" Alice barked. They took a pass over the city, using a laser to designate their targets.  
  
"Target acquired!" Yuan said. A crosshair appeared in his heads up display as the Zephyr swooped around for another pass. "Main cannon... Lady Enigma, incoming!" Alice immediately rolled out of the way as a ballista shot a powerful bolt into their fuselage and pierced the main cannon.  
  
"Main cannon's useless. Signal- white, white, red," Alice said.  
  
"Seems like their cannon isn't working anymore," Kepler said. He had gathered the Arshis knights that survived the arrows, about a hundred total.  
  
"Then we can only do one thing: charge!" Dusk ordered. The entire phalanx held their spears at an angle and moved as one mass of men. Like a swarm of ants, they were powerless as individuals but made up Delthis' most powerful force together. Dusk marched at the head of his phalanx, carrying the blood red banner with a silver tiger emblazoned on it. Kepler's knights rode alongside on Dusk's flanks, toting their shields to protect against arrows.  
  
"Here they come!" Kepler warned. A volley of arrows arched from the walls and took down a line of warriors in the front. The host of spearmen edged forward, however, finally arriving at the fortifications.  
  
"Alexander Altair, where are you?" Dusk shouted. A knight directing the archers looked up to see the Desian commander. Blood stained his otherwise shining silver armor and helmet. With a grappling line, Dusk scaled the wall and struck down the nearest archers.  
  
"Which halfling dares to call me by my first name," Altair said. He drew his two katanas, Cosmic Storm and Kikuichimonji, both forged by the elves of pure mithril and infused with protective charms.  
  
"I am Dusk... and your defeat!" Dusk boasted. Dusk and Altair faced off while the battle raged on outside the city.  
  
"Cosmic Storm, activate! Kikuichimonji, activate! Polarize!" Altair said, creating an aura of darkness around one sword and light around the other.  
  
"Come now, do you think your poor excuse for magic will hurt me? You don't even have the elven blood in you to use that magic power, you inferior being," taunted Dusk.  
  
"Inferior?!" Altair's eyes narrowed and his face stiffened. He crossed his swords, charging at Dusk without hesitation.  
  
"Bye," Dusk replied without showing emotion. All he needed was to cut Altair across the arm and his opponent fell to the floor.  
  
"What is this? Why can't I move?" Altair gasped.  
  
"Oh, I forgot to mention. My blade is coated with a virulent poison, though I shall spare you the pain. Levitate!" Dusk said, laughing as he lifted Altair from the floor and threw him off the wall into his legion below. Like a pack of dogs, they drove their lances into him. Fully aware of their commander's demise, the archers all pointed their bows at Dusk. He leaped off the wall and joined his men.  
  
"We're going in," Darius said.  
  
"So are we!" Alice replied. 


	24. The End of the Eternal War Part 2

Chapter 24 :: The End of the Eternal War (Part 2)

"Okay, everyone. This is the moment you've been waiting for. Protect Alice and Mithos with your lives," the leader of the Ghosts inside the Zephyr said. They landed in the center of a city mostly ruined by war. The city itself was built of three layers of fortified buildings, but many of the bridges that connected them had since collapsed.  
  
"They're inside the wall!" a Macerdonian paladin said. He had with him a handful of knights, all equipped with heavy armor and swords.  
  
"Alice, out of the way!" Kepler said as he galloped into the square with his own knights. Just as he raised his hands to order a charge, a man on a black horse appeared from the direction of the palace.  
  
"They are not enemies. Come quickly to the castle," the man said. The paladins obeyed and laid down their arms.  
  
"Alice, I'll try to delay Dusk as much as possible," Kepler promised.  
  
"Well that didn't work last time did it?" Yuan dryly remarked. He motioned for Enigma's Ghosts to guard the passage from the town to the palace. Darius, meanwhile, landed the Trident directly in the path after they passed through. His team of Ghosts joined the first group and the Knights of Thor. Mithos took the lead behind the knight, while Alice made sure no foes were behind them. Finally they reached the castle where the king of Macerdon ruled.  
  
"Everyone, inside! Barricade the doors!" the knight said, riding his horse into the castle's audience room.  
  
"Mithos, I know all about you and your friends, ironically from Lord Procyon," a bearded king said. He too was in armor, ready to join his subjects in defending the city.  
  
"We have to put an end to this war, Lord Antares," Mithos pleaded. "With magitechnology gone, there's no reason to fight anymore."  
  
"I wish I could snap my fingers and call this war to a close," Antares said. "That's why I dismissed Procyon a month ago after he burned down one of our own cities because a few half-elves were given more freedom than they were officially granted."  
  
"Yuan, I'll join my people outside," Alice said. She teleported through the door and stood proudly at the head of her Ghosts.  
  
"So Procyon was acting on his own when he attacked Sirius' village," Solstice said.  
  
"Procyon has the support of most of Macerdon. Many humans and elves do not want to see those of impure blood around them," Antares said.  
  
"Then you think as Sirius does," Kratos said.  
  
"I never expected to see you, Altair and Procyon's future successor, here again. Yes, I disagree with the people's assessments, but I can do nothing to bend the will of the masses," Antares replied.  
  
"There's a lot you can do, Lord Antares. You can show them that half-elves can be good people. We don't want to soil your bloodlines. All we care about is finding a place where we can be accepted," Martel said. They heard the clash of swords right outside the door.  
  
"Stop, Dusk. Mithos and his friends are negotiating a surrender," Kepler said.  
  
"Get out of the way," Dusk answered, tossing Kepler aside with one hand. With a swipe of his magic sword, he blew away the combined Knights of Thor and Enigma's Ghosts.  
  
"All right then, Dusk. If you want to get to Mithos, you'll have to go through me," Alice said. She held the black crystal of dragon essence she took from Solstice. _I can only use this once, so this has to count._ "There's no way you will get your hands on Mithos' Angel Crystal."  
  
"His Angel Crystal? Do you really think I need that thing?" Dusk replied. He took out his own red crystal pendant and put it on. A pair of silver wings sprouted on his back.  
  
"Dragon form!" Alice called, raising the dragon essence over her. Her voice deepened as she changed into the shape of a black dragon, breathing a plume of purple fire at Dusk.  
  
"That barely tickled," Dusk said. "Do not think that your dark magic holds a candle to my holy magic. Rays of the sun... send this corrupt soul to Tartarus. Judgment Ray!" Almost exactly like Alice drawing the life from Solstice, Dusk pulled the life from Alice with a beam of white light. She returned to her human form, but realized that Dusk now possessed the dragon essence.  
  
"I'll not let you have it," Alice said. "Fearful Raven!" She sent her darkness attack to engulf the essence and bring it to her. Then, she summoned a portal to take her inside the palace.  
  
"Alice!" Martel said. "You're really badly hurt."  
  
Alice's face was whiter than ever and her red eyes were bloodshot. She was hanging on the brink of death.  
  
"Heal her, Martel," Yuan requested.  
  
"There will be none of that," Dusk said, slashing down the door with his blade. Solstice rushed the king away into an adjacent room. He knew that Dusk would try to kill the leader right off the bat. Kepler followed close behind with a few knights and Ghosts.  
  
"Lord Kepler," Alice said.  
  
"Alice!" Kepler said, running to her.  
  
"Kill her. She is a traitor to our cause," Dusk ordered.  
  
"You have no honor, do you, Dusk? I saw you and your poison sword," Kepler asked.  
  
"Who needs honor when you have victory?" replied Dusk. "Now, kill Alice Enigma."  
  
"I won't..."  
  
Dusk took out a dagger, completely clean of any poison and drove it through Kepler's stomach. "So you betrayed me, too. I'll leave you here to die while you think about your treachery, you dog."  
  
"Solstice!" Alice shouted, hurling the dragon essence to him. He caught it and instantly absorbed it back into his body. "All of you, run! You don't stand a chance against Dusk!"  
  
"We're not turning back," Mithos said. He drew the Starsword while his friends got ready to fight.  
  
"Lady Enigma! No!" Yuan shouted. Alice threw herself at Dusk and fired off a Fearful Raven into Dusk's crystal. Dusk countered by stabbing her through the heart. _  
This is my end. My legacy will live on in Yuan. Farewell, Mithos. I have always known I would die here and that my eyes will never come to rest on your peaceful world. _Alice's lifeless body dropped on the floor of the audience chamber. Only in death did her red eyes return to their natural green color.  
  
"This can't be! The crystal is damaged!" Dusk said. His wings flickered and then vanished.  
  
"Take him," Yuan said, slashing Dusk across the chest with his twin blade. "For Alice."  
  
"This is for Altair!" Kratos said, putting his Dragon's Tear into Dusk's heart.  
  
Dusk fell to his knees, and without the power of his Angel Crystal, the pain going through him was unbearable. He then took a look in the sky and grinned.  
  
"Ha ha ha ha! You've fallen right into my master's trap. Glory to Supreme Cardinal Erebus and the age of half-elves!" Dusk said. A blue magic seal appeared and the same black figure that saved Procyon emerged. "Lord Erebus!" 


	25. The True Enemy Reveals Himself

Chapter 25 :: The True Enemy Reveals Himself

"Erebus!" Mithos exclaimed. He now looked at the same man in his dreams that haunted him for so long.  
  
"Give me your crystal," Erebus said to Dusk. He placed his hand onto Dusk's Angel Crystal and repaired it just by a touch. "Go." Dusk vanished through the portal, leaving only Erebus.  
  
"So the nameless Supreme Cardinal finally shows himself," Yuan said.  
  
"What's the Supreme Cardinal?" asked Martel.  
  
"The man who orchestrated the course of the war. The man who made Lady Enigma suffer by creating the Angel Crystal for a weapon of war. The man who is responsible for Mithos being bound to his own crystal. Supreme Cardinal Erebus," Yuan said.  
  
"You are right about two things. I did have Mithos' crystal forged and ordered Cornelius to implant the same crystal into Enigma. However, the war was not of my creation. I merely took advantage of it to wipe out all the humans and elves on Aselia so that our kind will never have to face their injustice again," Erebus replied.  
  
"Injustice? Where do you go off talking about justice when you killed so many people? You even saved that Procyon!" Mithos said.  
  
"Casualties of a necessary evil. With the leadership of Delthis and Macerdon on the brink of collapse, I will be the only force on Aselia," Erebus declared. Beams rained down from the sky, fired by a fleet of hidden black armored airships. They destroyed entire blocks of the city with each explosion. "Cornelius' new elemental fusion designs will prove to be a very powerful weapon as will the successor to the Midgard Serpent, Thor's Hammer."  
  
"Come back, Erebus!" Mithos said.  
  
"Farewell. You are about to perish in dark flame," Erebus replied, vanishing through his blue portal.  
  
"You'll have to get to the flagship if you want to stop Erebus's Mana Cannon," Kepler said.  
  
"Evacuation is a higher priority. It doesn't seem like Erebus cares anymore about the lives of his own kind, especially since he saved the leader of Black Phoenix," Solstice said.  
  
"All right. I'll get Kepler and whatever people I can find out of the city," Martel said.  
  
"It was Alice's last wish that I accompany you. Besides, I'm the only one here now that can pilot the Zephyr," Yuan replied. Kepler was still bleeding badly, but Martel's healing powers stemmed the flow of blood.  
  
"Lord Antares. You should come with us," Martel said.  
  
"All right. I'll rally my own knights," Antares responded. "Heh, to think that we were saved by the same half-elves we've been trying to destroy. How strange indeed."  
  
"Okay, Mithos. Three elemental fusion reactors power the Thor's Hammer weapon. Disable them and it should no longer function," Kepler instructed.  
  
"Dragon form!" Solstice cried, returning to his full-fledged dragon shape for the first time in a long while. "It feels good to be a dragon again." Mithos and Kratos mounted him as he took flight into the sky over Meltokio. Streaks of light shot past them from Erebus' airships.  
  
"Solstice, are you sure you can dodge those things?" Mithos asked.  
  
"Be quiet and let me concentrate," Solstice replied, breathing a tongue of flame into an airship in their path.  
  
"Why hasn't he fired yet? Erebus has had more than enough time," Kratos said. Solstice rolled a few times to dodge the airships' attacks and passed through a cloud. There, they set their eyes upon a massive airship as big as the city of Meltokio. Three bulges of steel stuck out on the upper armor. Solstice dug his claws into the side of the ship and bore a hole with his fire breath. Then, he lowered his head into the hole to let Mithos and Kratos off before changing to his human form.  
  
"I don't like this place," commented Mithos. They were in a metal corridor at the outer rim of the airship's hull. Light came in the form of fluorescent lanterns and the occasional siren light.  
  
"I think our destination lies in this direction," Kratos said. Strangely they met no crewmembers on their way deep into the ship's heart. The entire flagship seemed to be running on its own. They proceeded until they came to a room where large conveyer belts moved metal cylinders into another room.  
  
"It seems that Erebus has written everything into the oldest Elvish dialect," Solstice said, reading the instructions at a panel near the belt.  
  
"Can we find where we need to go from here?" asked Mithos. Solstice scrolled through pages and pages of schematics on the panel. At last he located the map of the airship Tiamat.  
  
"It should be right through that door," Solstice said. Embedded in the wall was a massive iron door that seemed too thick to break through.  
  
"The trouble is how we are to get through," said Kratos.  
  
"Access to the mana reactors is allowed only to me," a voice said. The door behind them slammed shut and sealed itself off.  
  
"Cornelius, I presume," Kratos said. The giant doors pulled open to allow Lord Cornelius to step in. He wore both an eccentric monocle, while an Angel Crystal hung from a chain around his neck. Drawing the three to an open area in the room, Cornelius turned off all the machinery by throwing a switch near the large gate. 


	26. Cornelius' Crystal

Chapter 26 :: Cornelius' Crystal

"Mithos, is it?" Cornelius said.  
  
"What is it to you?" replied Mithos.  
  
"You don't know what the true purpose of that thing around your neck is, do you?" asked Cornelius.  
  
"That's simple. It enhances your normal abilities and gives you wings," Mithos answered.  
  
"The crystal made from Angelus Alpha had two hosts before you: Alice and Erebus. Erebus could communicate to you because the crystal absorbed part of his mana. He was able to convince you that acquiring the summon spirits would end this war, such a naïve suggestion," explained Cornelius.  
  
"Then, what was the real purpose of the crystal?" asked Solstice.  
  
"Ha! Because it was meant for creating a race of perfect lifeless beings, the crystal's falling into Mithos' hands was a fluke. Lord Dusk was to be the third host and his mission would be to go out and seek the summon spirits and hand Erebus their power. As the mana in your body grew with each pact, the crystal's hold over you also tightened. Had it not been for that Alice's interference at Thoda, you would have been a mindless slave controlled by Erebus."  
  
"Mindless? What do you think you are doing toying around with people's lives? Because of you, Alice was left only half-alive," Mithos accused.  
  
"In the end, none of this matters. I will take that crystal from your dead body and give it to Erebus," Cornelius said. Mithos unsheathed his sword.  
  
"Let's go," Mithos said. Kratos stepped up beside him with Solstice.  
  
"Unlike that brute Dusk, I have refined my dueling skills," boasted Cornelius. His rapier slashed off a perfect triangle from Mithos' sleeve. Sensing Kratos' approach from behind, Cornelius turned and thrust twice into his shoulders.  
  
"Argh!" Kratos uttered. Thin but resilient, Cornelius' rapier withstood a series of hammer blows from Mithos' Starsword.  
  
"Old man, your time has come." Cornelius ran at Solstice, hoping to strike him down with a single thrust through the heart.  
  
"What you seek to accomplish," Solstice said. His left hand turned into a dragon's claw and took a hold of Cornelius' weapon. "Will never happen." SNAP! The mithril foil broke in half.  
  
"How did you? That rapier was made by Erebus himself," Cornelius said in disbelief. Solstice's hand returned to normal, but he glared into the foe with a fire burning in his eyes. Instantly, the Angel Crystal on him melted into a puddle of red liquid on the steel floor. "Finish me. If I go down, it will be against a worty opponent."  
  
"Leave him. He's not worth our time," Mithos said.  
  
"Are you sure, Mithos?" Kratos asked.  
  
"Yes, I am sure of it," answered Mithos. "We have that mana reactor to turn off."  
  
The three continued onto the heart of the airship Tiamat. In a room the size of a small town, pipes and wires suspended three gargantuan glass spheres. Inside each sphere slept a spirit: Luna, the spirit of light, a woman with platinum blonde hair; Shadow, the spirit of darkness, an amorphous figure of dark matter; and finally Maxwell, the spirit of matter itself, a old man who floated on a circular platform.  
  
"They are the most powerful spirits," Solstice said. "Amaterasu herself serves Luna."  
  
"Amatera... who?" Mithos asked.  
  
"The one who raised me," Solstice replied.  
  
"How do we go about shutting them down?" asked Kratos. "There doesn't seem to be an off switch around here."  
  
"Let's try forming pacts with them," Mithos suggested.  
  
"Thou wilst free us from our prisons?" a soft voice said. They saw that Luna had awakened with the others.  
  
"Oh, ho, ho, ho! Finally, Solstice you've come for us, you little whippersnapper," Maxwell said, grasping his long beard.  
  
"Free..." Shadow said in a ghastly voice.  
  
"Whippersnapper?" Kratos said.  
  
"Maxwell is as old as the universe. I am a mere five thousand years old," Solstice replied.  
  
"There should be a control panel somewhere under my reactor. Turn the three knobs first to 'purge' and then to 'open'," Maxwell instructed.  
  
"Got it," Mithos said. On a glowing console, he turned three circular knobs first to the left. Kchoooo.... A burst of steam shot out from all three of the mana reactors. "Open!" The spheres split in half, retracting into the floor and ceiling. Almost immediately, the lights in the chamber turned off.  
  
"So, thou seeketh a pact with us," Luna said.  
  
"Fight..." Shadow whispered.  
  
"You are in no condition to battle right now. I can feel that your mana is only a fraction of what it should be. You stand to fade from this realm," Solstice explained.  
  
"Then the little one will take us together and show us his most powerful skill. If we deem it to be strong enough, then we will acknowledge you," Maxwell said.  
  
"Mithos," Kratos said.  
  
"I know. I've been saving this since Dusk, my crystal's overlimit," Mithos said. Mithos unfurled his wings, flying to the center of the three spirits. 


	27. Dark Dawn Rises

Chapter 27 :: Dark Dawn Rises

"Pyre of the resurrecting Phoenix! Flames of Rebirth!" Luna called.  
  
"Rumble... Dark Matter Explosion," said Shadow.  
  
"Let's see here," Maxwell began, flipping through the pages of a tome in his hand. "Here we go... Meteor Storm!"  
  
"Starsword, lend me your power! Light of Ra!" Mithos yelled. From Luna came a scorching tongue of white fire. Shadow surrounded Mithos with a sphere of darkness, collapsing onto him. Finally, Maxwell summoned a portal into outer space and rained meteors on him. Mithos' sword brimmed with a glowing silver aura. He swung his sword like a tornado and let loose a shockwave which pushed Shadow's attack away. Luna's fire reached it next, instantly cancelled by Mithos. Once the wave had passed a few feet from Mithos, parts of it broke apart to intercept Maxwell's meteors. In a blinding flash, the Light of Ra collided with the three spirits who concentrated all their energy into defending.  
  
"Impressed..." Shadow said.  
  
"Yes, yes..." agreed Maxwell, once again grasping his beard in deep thought.  
  
"Thou art strong. Make thy vow," instructed Luna.  
  
"All right. In order to protect everyone, regardless of blood, and create a new world, I ask for your power," Mithos said. The three spirits formed into light that flowed to the Starsword. Mithos' blade took a new shape, a long silver sword that was light as a feather.  
  
"I give you Excalibur, the holy sword of the spirits," Maxwell's voice said. Mithos, having exerted his strength in the last attack, collapsed on the floor. A feather materialized and landed in Solstice's hand. "Take me back to my home."  
  
"You are all too late to stop me," Erebus said. He entered from his usual magic seal at the opposite end of the room.  
  
"Erebus, Thor's Hammer is useless without the spirits," Solstice said. Kratos went to Mithos and picked him up.  
  
"Oh really? Thor's Hammer is more powerful than it ever was now that it has the added power of the elemental spirits. You see, it draws its energy not from these reactors, but from my crystal which is forever bonded to Mithos!" said Erebus.  
  
"What? So that's why you let us come all the way here," Kratos replied.  
  
"Master Erebus... help," Cornelius pleaded, crawling on the floor towards them.  
  
"You failed to capture the crystal. I do not take failure lightly," Erebus coldly answered. "Apocalyptic Prophecy."  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" screamed Cornelius. His life force flowed from his body in a white stream into Erebus' hands, leaving only his clothing and brittle bones.  
  
"Witness the fall of all your hopes. Within Derris-Kharlan sleeps the king of all spirits, Origin. When I make a pact with him, I will control mana and all of Aselia will bow before me," Erebus said. They felt themselves being raised to a higher level as cables lifted the section of the floor to the outside. The Tiamat turned to the east, in the direction of Aselia's equator. A section of armor around the bow fell off, revealing a huge cannon. "FIRE!" Light gathered at the end of the cannon into an emerald sphere. Sending a piercing sound that could be heard from miles away, Thor's Hammer was unleashed upon the holy continent of Derris-Kharlan. The white barrier surrounding the source of all mana collapsed on impact. "I will be going now. Run if you wish."  
  
"Kratos, the ship is descending," Solstice said. Kratos, still holding Mithos, nodded. "It seems like the cannon is readying for another blast, too."  
  
"Solstice, turn into a dragon," advised Kratos. Solstice reached his full dragon form and lowered one wing to let Kratos and Mithos aboard. He sprang from the armor of the Tiamat as it plunged directly into Meltokio. From a cliff far away, Amaterasu watched the fall of the Tiamat with her daughter Keiko.  
  
"What is that, mother?" a young girl wearing a kimono several sizes too large for her asked.  
  
"The end of dawn, beginning of eternal dusk," Amaterasu replied. The Tiamat broke into pieces as it smashed through entire skyscrapers and collapsed bridges. When it finally hit the ground, an emerald light shot skyward followed by an expanding column of green flame. Pieces of the streets tore out of the earth and disintegrated as the city of Meltokio was engulfed in the explosion. 


	28. Reconciliation

Chapter 28 :: Reconciliation

"I see, so Eberus has passed through the gate to Derris-Kharlan," Kepler said to Solstice. Yuan and Martel evacuated most of the citizens of the city with only seconds to spare using the Zephyr and Trident. Still, only a fraction were alive to begin with for Dusk had hurled flaming debris into the housing district. The refugees set up a small camp along with what soldiers survived.  
  
"I must return to Exire. If we are to stop Eberus, we will need all the help we can get," Solstice answered. Kepler, confined to a wheelchair since his bout with Dusk, became the acting Supreme Cardinal. With Asgard and Meltokio both in ruins, no government remained to control the lands. Anarchy broke out in many regions as half-elves and humans alike slaughtered each other in retribution for their losses in the Eternal War. "I pray for your success in negotiations."  
  
Even in the refugee camp, the half-elves and the pureblood kept away from each other. Save for the Knights of Thor, they never made contact with the other side because each held the other responsible for what had happened. Kepler's knights remained on guard around the camp and became the only half-elves to be grudgingly accepted by the pureblood.  
  
"Mithos, you're back with us," Martel greeted. She found Mithos reading an old book under a large oak tree near the camp, which was situated beside a forest.  
  
"Kepler wants me to help him with diplomacy, whatever that is," Mithos said.  
  
"Do you want me to help, Mithos?" Martel offered.  
  
"It's all right. I think I can handle it if I've been through all this. Besides, it should be a matter of making the two sides get along, right?" Mithos said.  
  
"Mithos remains as idealistic as ever," Kratos said to Yuan. The two joined the siblings on the forest hill near the camp. Yuan and Martel embraced upon seeing each other. During the few weeks they spent at the camp, the two had very little time for each other. Martel was always tending to the sick while Yuan needed to reorganize the remnants of Enigma's Ghosts.  
  
"Martel, you want to join me for dinner tonight?" Yuan said.  
  
"Sure, I'd be happy to," Martel answered.  
  
"Well... time for me to get back to 'diplomacy.' Coming, master?" Mithos said.  
  
"Of course, since you know little about diplomacy yourself," Kratos answered. They returned to a large tent in the center of camp in which Darius set up a long table. Lord Darius sat at the left end with Mithos, Kratos, and Kepler as the representatives of the half-elves. On the opposite side were King Antares, his chancellor Harold Arcturus, the elf elder from Heimdall village, and finally an elven sorceress from the northern coast.  
  
"Let us begin then by deciding the terms of peace," Kratos said.  
  
"First, the withdrawal of all humans and elves from Delthis," Kepler said.  
  
"We are willing to pull out our soldiers, but there is no way we would uproot our citizens," Harold said. "In exchange we would like you to relinquish your foothold in the Flanoir region. I am talking, of course, about the base of Enigma's Ghosts."  
  
"There is valuable scientific research being conducted there and it would take time for us to move everything," Darius replied.  
  
"We will give you as much time as you need, given that you will do the same for our soldiers," Antares said.  
  
"Finally, both sides must join in the fight against Eberus," Kepler said. "Only by working together can we overcome his power."  
  
"You suggest that we fight alongside our enemies and trust you," the elven elder said. He turned to the woman beside him and whispered something in Elvish.  
  
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Have you not heard that saying?" Kratos interrupted.  
  
"It may be true that Eberus presents us with a common enemy right now, but what will prevent you from starting another Eternal War," said sorceress said.  
  
"Start? If I recall, it was your army that marched into Triet and triggered the war," Kepler said, raising his voice.  
  
"And Enigma's Ghosts were infiltrating our ranks. What could we do, let you inferior half-elves take over our government?" Harold shot back. The room exploded into a fury of argument. Both sides were yelling curses and accusing the other of starting the war and various atrocities.  
  
"And who was responsible for the scouring of Heimdall? The deaths from Cornelius' Rheairds will never be forgotten," the elder said.  
  
"Just shut up, all of you!" Mithos yelled, slamming his fist onto the table. A silence fell on the diplomats.  
  
"Mithos, to think that I am negotiating with someone exiled from Heimdall," the elder said.  
  
"Don't you see what's going on here? Eberus knows that the hate between both sides runs deep. Even if we defeat him but don't get over our differences, another Eberus is just going to take his place- someone who's angered that their people are suffering," Mithos said.  
  
"Mithos..." Kratos started.  
  
"Maybe even a human or an elf," added Mithos.  
  
"We will never accept your kind," Harold replied.  
  
"Silence, Harold. I am still the king of Macerdon, regardless of the beliefs of Black Phoenix," Antares said. "Hold your tongue or I will have it cut off."  
  
"Lord Arcturus is from Black Phoenix?" Kratos asked.  
  
"Secretly. Conspiring with Procyon, he authorized the attack to capture Sirius, something I fervently fought even when confronted by evidence that Enigma's Ghosts were there," Antares answered.  
  
"Let's call it a day, everyone. We've decided on the military cease fire, and that alone is a great accomplishment," Darius suggested. "Mithos is only a child, but he speaks more wisdom than many of us adults. I will order all our Ghosts to begin leaving Arctic Base."  
  
"And we will withdraw from your lands," Antares said.  
  
"What about the Knights of Thor and the other Desian soldiers?" asked Mithos.  
  
"They may stay. The gods know that we need them to protect this place," Antares said. "Now, we shall see each other tomorrow."  
  
The representatives got up and dispersed from the tent to attend to their own duties. Mithos, however, went with Kratos back to their shelter.  
  
"Diplomacy is a lot tougher than I thought," Mithos said.  
  
"What you must realize is that not everyone is as quick to trust someone that they have been enemies with immediately. You befriended Alice when she joined you, and, as your mentor, I could only accept it too," Kratos said.  
  
"You never trusted Alice?" Mithos asked.  
  
"Not at first. Eventually, she had my full faith, but someone who just tried to kill my student is not a person I would easily make friends with," Kratos replied.  
  
"Oh yeah! Martel and Yuan said they were having dinner tonight. Can we go, Kratos?" Mithos said excitedly.  
  
"No, I think they want to spend it alone. The two of them have not had much time to themselves," Kratos replied. 


	29. An End to Youthful Innocence

Chapter 29 :: An End to Youthful Innocence

Weeks dragged on as did the peace talks. So deep was the mutual distrust that it took many days for either side to agree on concessions or demands. Each time the diplomats began to argue, however, Mithos yelled at them to return to the task at hand. No longer able to stand with half-elves, Lord Arcturus withdrew from the talks, replaced by Lord Altair's younger brother. News reached the camp that Eberus was building new airships to defend his stronghold in Derris-Kharlan. He also raised a new barrier around it to prevent any would be heroes from passing through. Apparently, he had yet to acquire Origin's power or else Aselia would have been under his control by now.  
  
"It is said that time runs differently in the holy ground," the elven sorceress explained. "One hour there may translate to many days in our realm."  
  
A full month passed after hostilities came to an end, not that either side had much to fight with anymore.  
  
"His name is Noishe," Kepler said to Kratos one morning. "Since I'm held to this wheelchair for the rest of my life, I won't be able to ride him anymore. He makes a steadfast companion, so I would like you to have him."  
  
"Thank you, Kepler," Kratos said, rubbing the fur on Noishe's back. Noishe gave a sad cry, but licked his new master's face.  
  
"Now, you had better get going. Mithos said he intended to meet with all his friends today," Kepler replied.  
  
In a field not far from the camp, Mithos, Kratos, Yuan, and Martel finally had some free time. However, the dark clouds above gathered, signaling that their tribulations were about to take a turn for the worse. A chilling wind blew over the fields. Winter was coming to Macerdon and they all knew quite well that they would have to help in building sturdier homes for the snow and ice.  
  
"It's going to start getting cold soon," Martel said.  
  
"Sadly, none of you will be around to feel it," a very familiar voice said. Eberus emerged from his magic circle with Procyon at his side.  
  
"Eberus, what do you want now?" Mithos demanded.  
  
"Your life. It seems that there was a final seal placed in Derris-Kharlan that requires the spirit of a half-elf untainted by darkness," Eberus answered.  
  
"And my old friend Harold told us where to get one," Procyon continued.  
  
"Arcturus? He sold us out?" Yuan said.  
  
"That's Supreme Chancellor Harold Arcturus to you, halfling," Harold said, appearing later through Eberus' portal. "Once Antares is dead, we will march back into Delthis and crush every half-elf."  
  
"Eberus, your mind must be even more clouded than before. This man is willing to kill all those you are trying to save," Kratos said.  
  
"Save? I have abandoned them long ago knowing that only an omnipotent ruler can end all wars. Mithos, forfeit your life!" Erebus said.  
  
"I will gladly take it with my Sword of Tartarus," Procyon said. Mithos drew Excalibur from its sheath while Procyon pulled out his own black sword.  
  
"Apocalyptic Prophecy!"  
  
"I summon..." Mithos started, losing the ability to stand. Erebus began to draw the life out of him as Procyon approached, ready to strike him down.  
  
"Mithos!" Martel cried. She put herself directly in the path of Procyon.  
  
"Out of the way, dog," Procyon said. Erebus' spell began draining from Martel.  
  
"Martel, get out of there!" Yuan called. He rushed forward, but Erebus sent an Apocalyptic Prophecy at him with his other hand. The only one left, Kratos jumped and dived down upon Procyon.  
  
"I've got him, Master. Kratos the traitor, Macerdon will remember this day," Harold said. He took a crossbow hidden under his cloak and fired it into Kratos as he descended.  
  
"Now, perish!" Procyon brought his sword down, piercing through Martel with a rapid stab. In throwing herself in the path of his sword, Martel managed to save Mithos from Procyon's blade.  
  
"Good, time to go," Erebus said. He let go of his life drain on both Martel and Yuan. "Martel's spirit will do fine."  
  
Slipping away, Martel fell into Mithos' arms.  
  
"Martel..." Mithos said. Tears were welling up in his eyes. "How could you?"  
  
"After we tried to make peace with you, you turn around and ally yourself with Erebus. Human, your kind must not be allowed to live!" Yuan declared, striking Harold with a Fearful Raven attack. The last image in Harold's eyes was a black beam hitting him. Once Fearful Raven took the hold of a person's soul, the caster could condemn their consciousness to eternity in a dark abyss.  
  
"How far are you willing to go to take control of the mana?" Kratos asked Erebus.  
  
"I'll never forgive you. You humans are all the same, willing to sell your soul to darkness in exchange for power," Mithos said. His Angel Crystal exploded with light as his wings appeared, larger than the last two times he went into overlimit.  
  
"Mithos, no!" Kratos yelled.  
  
"I won't rest until you are dead, Erebus! Light of Ra!" Mithos cried. Excalibur unleashed its full fury on Erebus.  
  
"You are still too weak," Erebus said. He levitated Procyon and lifted him into the path of Mithos' light. Procyon's body absorbed the attack in place of his master. "The Light of Ra is not an attack that kills. Instead, the light purifies one of the darkness within. Most will not have the strength to survive purification."  
  
Procyon took the blast from the light, falling nearly lifeless at Eberus' feet.  
  
"Help me... master," he begged.  
  
"You are of no use to me anymore. Apocalyptic Prophecy!" Erebus replied. He pointed one hand to Procyon and the other to Arcturus and drew from them their mana. Like his previous victims, the two humans were nothing but piles of bones when he was finished. "Mithos, follow me to Derris-Kharlan if you dare to fight me."  
  
"Martel," Mithos said. She was barely able to move for her mana now belonged to Erebus.  
  
"We'll get you to Darius," Yuan said.  
  
"No... let me pass on. I will only be able to live on like Alice, neither alive nor dead. At least in death, I will die with no regrets."  
  
"Don't talk like that, Martel. We can still save you," Mithos said.  
  
"Yuan... thank you for being with me," Martel weakly said. "Mithos, if you desire it, remove my flute from my bag. Carry it with you, for my spirit will always be in your heart. Please Mithos, create a world in which nobody will ever have to suffer because of how they were born."  
  
"Martel... no... we were supposed to finish this together," Mithos said. Tears streamed down his cheeks.  
  
"Mithos, we must continue to carry on Martel's hopes and dreams in our actions. Never forget that she died believing in a better future," Kratos said.  
  
Martel was buried the next day on that same field, though Mithos never said a word at her funeral. For nearly two weeks, Mithos remained his shelter. When he needed to eat, Kratos would bring him his meal and he would silently partake. A few days after Martel's death, Solstice returned bearing good news. The dragons agreed to lend their assistance to the cause. At the end of two weeks, Kratos got up in the early morning to gather firewood for the camp. He headed past the plains and into the hills where the four friends stood together just over a month ago. Darius, an expert carpenter in addition to being a scientist, quickly hammered together sturdy cabins for them to live in over the past few weeks.  
  
"Master," Mithos said, approaching him from behind. Light flurries sprinkled like salt from the overcast skies. He had Excalibur at his side. 


	30. A Master no More

Chapter 30 :: A Master no More

"You can talk again," observed Kratos. He immediately noticed that Mithos looked paler than usual, perhaps because the crystal was feeding of his mana while he rested.  
  
"Give me the final test, so I will be free from your apprenticeship. I am ready for this," Mithos requested.  
  
"You are right. There is not much left I can teach you in the art of the sword," Kratos said. He pointed down to the fields where the test would take place. "This time, I will not hold back."  
  
"I understand, neither will I," Mithos replied.  
  
"We shall settle this with two Divine Storm Blades. No crystal magic," Kratos said.  
  
"All right," Mithos answered. Teacher and student stood on opposite ends of the plain.  
  
"Do you understand what it means when you defeat me? You will have mastered the most potent form of swordsmanship, passed on by my master to me."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then there is no point in delaying. Divine Storm Blade!"  
  
"Divine Storm Blade!"  
  
Like their exercise at the beginning of the journey, both sprinted forward at a blinding speed. Their feet barely touched the frost covered grass before moving again. Kratos saw Mithos coming and readied to block.  
  
_You must continue that which I have taught you into the next generation._ Kratos thought. The two swords smashed against each other for what seemed like an eternity, determining the outcome of the duel. Kratos' sword gave way, thrown to the opposite end of the field. At that moment, Mithos sheathed his sword.  
  
"Master," Mithos said.  
  
"A master no more," Kratos replied. "You are now the rightful successor of the holy sword. However..."  
  
"What is it, Kratos?" Mithos asked.  
  
"Do not forget that there is still darkness within you. Let this be my final lesson to you, not as a teacher to a student, but as one swordsman to another. If you cannot control your darkness and your anger, you are not invincible. You still stand to be defeated by someone who has a strong will," Kratos said.  
  
"Which is why I will use what you've taught me to rid the world of all darkness," Mithos said.  
  
"The day's finally here when we strike back at Erebus," Yuan said at the camp later that day. Assembled above was the largest fleet of airships ever brought together, mainly Deathcarriers with makeshift elemental fusion reactors.  
  
"Lord Yuan, Kratos, you probably need these," Kepler said. In each hand was an Angel Crystal bonded to a gold crest.  
  
"These cursed things?" Yuan said.  
  
"Without them you will never match Erebus' power," said Kepler.  
  
"Yuan, despite what happened to Alice..." Mithos said.  
  
"I know." Yuan took the crystal and placed on his hand. A pair of blue translucent wings sprouted from his back. "Alice would have wanted us to defeat Erebus."  
  
"Will this work on a human?" asked Kratos, cautiously placing it on his hand.  
  
"Cornelius tested crystals on several humans perfectly, so it should work," answered Kepler.  
  
"I have assembled the other dragons and Darius has rallied the airships with him. Are you ready, Mithos?" Solstice landed in the center of the camp as a dragon.  
  
"Let's take this fight to Erebus," Mithos said. He mounted Solstice first with Yuan and Kratos behind. The Zephyr and the Trident flew beside them while their eight Rheairds protected the air above Solstice.  
  
"Hold on, everyone!" Solstice warned. He broke ahead of the airships, reaching supersonic speed instantly. With the sun at their backs, they approached the eastern horizon that glowed with an eerie purple hue. 


	31. DerrisKharlan

Chapter 31 :: Derris-Kharlan

"What are those things over the Holy Ground?" Mithos asked. Derris-Kharlan was a land covered in violet cloud, a realm that existed separate from the rest of Aselia. From far away they saw the outline of the Great Kharlan Tree, the ash tree that was the source of mana.  
  
"Those are clouds of mana, released from the roots of the tree," Solstice said.  
  
"Solstice, Erebus has airships between us and the barrier!" Yuan called.  
  
"I know. I'm counting on your friends," Solstice replied. He backed off to allow the Delthis-Macerdon fleet to soar ahead of them. Twenty wolves from Mithos' side and twenty tigers from Erebus' side dueled in the sea around Derris-Kharlan. Exchanging attacks furiously, the two airship groups filled the sky with fire.  
  
"Red, red, red," Yuan said, seeing the Zephyr's flares. "They want us to go ahead."  
  
"Now, if we can just break that barrier," Kratos said. Crying deafening roars, seventy white-scaled dragons speared down through a mana cloud. Forming around Solstice, all the dragons breathed a torrent of flame onto the barrier around Derris-Kharlan.  
  
"Spirit that guards the light of life... I summon thee! Come, Luna!" Mithos called. Appearing out of a white magic seal, two orbs of light shot past them towards Derris-Kharlan. First was a two-headed golden bird, the spirit of the sun, Aska. Then came Luna herself, flying over the ocean on her crescent moon. With her staff pointed forward, Luna called Aska to her and both released a thousand arcs of light into the barrier before vanishing into the heavens.  
  
"Solstice, turn now!" Yuan shouted. From the center of Derris-Kharlan came comets of dark matter absorbed into black auras. They smashed through the dragons and drained their mana.  
  
"Lady Minerva!" Solstice yelled as their leader, a female white dragon with a red streak down her back, fell into the sea. As a last act, Minerva released a blast of light into the barrier and scorched a hole through it.  
  
"Go now, Solstice!"   
  
Heeding Minerva's words, Solstice shot through the barrier like a bullet, just as the entire wall came crashing down. From the heart of the Holy Ground, Erebus sent another series of black meteors to cut a swath of destruction into the dragons following Solstice.  
  
"Almost there!" Mithos said. The Kharlan Tree came into clear sight, an aging ash that towered above the murky land below.  
  
"The war must have sapped it of its life," Kratos said. Solstice landed at the base of the tree, where Erebus waited for them on a throne with statues of angels all around him. A giant lotus blossom floated above his head, emitting a blue glow.  
  
"Martel?!" Mithos said, seeing his sister's figure inside the blossom.  
  
"This is a flower of the great tree, so that when this fades, a new one will be reborn. However, the one who calls the new tree to sprout will have control over its mana," Eberus said. "Your sister's spirit now rests inside this seed."  
  
"You scoundrel! Is that what you plan to do with this world, create a place where everyone lives to serve you?" Yuan said.  
  
"Origin is under my pact now, so I hold his power. You are but mere insects compared to me," Erebus declared. His eyes fell to the gems that Yuan and Kratos held. "Angel Crystals?"  
  
"That's right," Yuan said. He and Kratos showed their azure wings. Solstice, back in his human form, was incompatible with the crystals, but his dragon essence made up for that.  
  
"Watch me," Erebus said. A few dragons made it through his meteors and dived down upon him. "Apocalyptic Prophecy." Erebus drained them of their mana and cast their remains aside.  
  
"Martel will be avenged. I'll bring you down myself if I have to," Mithos said. Excalibur ready, he charged forward like a lion pouncing its prey. Erebus lifted himself off the throne by sprouting rainbow wings and floated towards Mithos.  
  
"The supreme ruler of all mana, take me as a vessel for your strength!" Erebus held his hands up as mana flowed from the great tree into his body. CRACK! The earth beneath their feet shattered and made way for the tiles of a stone floor. A tower stretching into the heavens rose out of the ground, the center for Erebus' empire. Clouds of mana from the Kharlan Tree engulfed the spire in a violet haze. They stood on a semicircle platform at the top of his tower where his throne rested. The air whipped around them violently like a poweful storm. The flower of the Great Kharlan Tree continued to float over them. Erebus flung his arms out, causing two swords of light to appear. "Behold, Vinheim! My new kingdom!" 


	32. The Master of Mana

Chapter 32 :: The Master of Mana

"You haven't figured it out yet, have you?" Yuan said. "No amount of power can end the hatred burned into the hearts of people."  
  
"Wars are caused by those with weak hearts. I'll eradicate them all!" Erebus said back. Flickering for a second, he teleported up to Yuan and held his blade up to stab downward.  
  
"Divine Storm Blade!" Mithos cried, slashing Erebus with the holy sword. Erebus crossed his two swords, easily parrying his attack.  
  
"I'm counting on you, Martel. Blade of Osiris!" Yuan said. He jumped over Mithos while Erebus was blocking and sliced diagonally from the left and right with his dual blade.  
  
"Is that all you can muster, Yuan? I better hopes for the future successor to Enigma's Ghosts," taunted Erebus. Yuan smirked, delivering the critical part of the Blade of Osiris move. His first two strokes were only meant to throw the opponent off guard. Yuan vanished into a flash of light, reappearing in four locations around Erebus. All the illusionary figures, created from Amaterasu's ring, rushed into Erebus at once. Erebus sensed Yuan coming, striking at one of them as it came. However, his two swords slashed through an illusion and Yuan sent Erebus crashing into his throne with a thrust of his weapon.  
  
"Time for me to step in. Tiamat's Claw!" Solstice's two hands changed into dragon claws as he jumped at Erebus and tore into him.  
  
"Get off me, old man!" Erebus said, throwing Solstice back with a wave of his hand. "I've let you have your fun, but there will be no escape this time. I summon the powerful demons of the underworld!" He held one palm out to Mithos, who took a defensive stance. "Come, Chaos!"  
  
"Mithos, you'll have to strike him as soon as I attack, understand?" Kratos said. "I have tried for many years to perfect this move... Sword of the Nine Guardians!"  
  
Kratos' Dragon's Tear pulsated as he sprinted with the Divine Storm Blade technique into Erebus. He struck Erebus with two slashes of the Divine Storm Blade then sprang off a pillar for a Dragon Ascension. Lifting Erebus into the air, Kratos did three spin slashes, and an aerial Divine Storm Blade. Just before landing, Kratos slammed Erebus from above and finished with the Diviner technique.  
  
"Such power..." Erebus said, trying to catch his breath. SNAP! Kratos' Dragon's Tear, stressed too much from that attack, broke into two pieces.  
  
"Go, Mithos!" Kratos said.  
  
"Too late!" Erebus said. A black aura surrounded him and his swords grew to twice their size. He speared the ground with his twin blades and sent a shockwave across to Mithos.  
  
"Here goes... Dragon Light Explosion!" Mithos called. Gliding to Erebus with his wings, Mithos dodged to the right as the shockwave ripped through the floor. Then, he came at Erebus and lifted him into the air with Dragon Ascension. However, instead of finishing the technique using a Divine Storm Blade, Mithos pointed the sword into Erebus and yelled.  
  
"Prism Sword!" The light penetrated Erebus with such force that he was sent clear through one of his statues and into the Kharlan Tree. Erebus disintegrated, leaving only his Angel Crystal to fall to the tree's roots.  
  
"Erebus is dead," a voice said. With a ring of crystals around him, a four-armed man appeared. He held a sword in each of his upper arms and a spear in each of his lower arms."Origin," Mithos said. "Isn't that right?"  
  
"Yes, by defeating Erebus, you have proven yourself worthy of my pact," Origin said.  
  
"Good. Then I shall make my vow: I vow to create a world in which nobody will ever have to suffer," Mithos said.  
  
"Something's wrong," Solstice said. "Erebus was far too easy if he had the power of Origin on his side."  
  
A column of light exploded from the roots of the Kharlan Tree, lifting Erebus' Angel Crystal to their level.  
  
"I am still bound to you, Mithos. In dying, I lived on in this crystal more powerful than ever!" Erebus' voice said. Sparkles flowed from Mithos' crystal to Erebus'. His crystal underwent a transformation from red to a rainbow of colors.  
  
"He's gone into overlimit!" Yuan said.  
  
"I am the mana's true master. I am Hades Erebus," Erebus said. He materialized with the crystal around his neck, bearing a black spear. "This is the spear of the god Odin- Gungnir!" Leaving a trail of a black shadow whenever he moved, he drifted to the throne.  
  
"I will not allow this!" Origin said.  
  
"And what are you going to do about it, you four armed freak? Judgment Spear!"  
  
Origin teleported out of Erebus' lance attack to Mithos.  
  
"You are the one who has formed a new pact with me," Origin said.  
  
"Yes, I ask that you give me the strength to change the world," Mithos said.  
  
"It is yours," Origin said. Excalibur lengthened and turned into a blade of crystallized mana. "The Eternal Sword is a blade which only you and other half-elves can use. It matches Erebus' power, but you must find the strength within yourself to best him." With that, Origin vanished in a flash of light. 


	33. Aselia's Last Hour

Chapter 33 :: Aselia's Last Hour

"Crimson light of the void... burn this world to ashes," Erebus said. "Ragnarok Twilight!"  
  
Under Hades Erebus, a red magic circle with runes around it appeared. Countless crimson streaks shot from the seal towards Mithos' party.  
  
"It's a more powerful version of Apocalyptic Prophecy!" Solstice exclaimed, before being hit.  
  
"Solstice! Eternal Sword, awaken! Isis' Protection!" Mithos raised the sword, casting a warm light on his friends. Because the blade matched Erebus but did not exceed his power, Mithos was the only one left standing when the attack finished. Kratos, Yuan, and Solstice lay within a hair's thickness from death.  
  
"It's just one on one, now. Mano a mano," Erebus said. Both stared each other down. "I've been waiting for the moment to confront you, my shadow."  
  
"I'll destroy you for what you did to Martel!" Mithos said.  
  
"Let's go."  
  
Mithos and Erebus flew at each other, both calling their rainbow wings to full size. Eternal Sword clashed against Gungnir four times without any side yielding an ounce of strength. _Maybe if Origin isn't enough, I'll have to use every other spirit. _Mithos held his blade forward at Erebus. Meanwhile, Erebus was chanting an incantation to call upon the demons of the underworld again.  
  
"All right, Eternal Sword! I summon the guardians of Aselia! Spirits, lend me your strength!"  
  
"Masters of Tartarus, come forth!" Erebus commanded. One by one, colored lights entered the Eternal Sword, infusing it with the power of the summon spirits. On the other side, Erebus' Gungnir pulsed with a red light.  
  
"Light of Eternity!"  
  
"Demon's Wrath!"  
  
A blast of white light exploded out of both weapons, but Mithos's was wrapped with a rainbow of colors while Erebus had a ring of red fire surrounding his attack. Colliding mid flight, Mithos' easily cut through his opponent's attack and struck Erebus's Angel Crystal.  
  
"You will live a cursed life from this day forward. Our battle here has drained the Kharlan Tree of all its mana. The only way for you to ressurect it is tossing away your sister's life!" Erebus' voice said before he was reduced to dust and scattered to the wind. This time, his Angel Crystal broke apart with him.  
  
"It's finally over," Yuan said.  
  
"No..." Solstice replied. "The Kharlan Tree!"  
  
The great tree before them began to break up. The war and finally this last epic struggle had forced it to wither and perish. Starting from the top, entire branches collapsed into the Holy Ground of Kharlan.  
  
"So we saved the world for nothing," Kratos said.  
  
"No, we can use that seed to grow a new tree," Yuan said. "Use the power of the Eternal Sword."  
  
Mithos' face turned blank as he stared into the blossom. He pointed the blade at the seed, shouting, "Come Origin and revive Martel!"  
  
"That is something I cannot do. Martel exists here within the seed in spirit alone. You will need a physical vessel to revive her," Origin said.  
  
"Mithos, you can't seriously be thinking of bringing her back to life. Without the great  
tree, this world only has a few months at best," Solstice said.  
  
"Think about what Martel died for, Mithos. To revive her and throw away the world is to go against everything that Martel believed in," Kratos insisted.  
  
"That's the whole reason I sought Origin's power, to control the power of life and death. I wish to bring Martel back," Mithos said. "Yuan, you understand, right?"  
  
"Even if you revive Martel, where will you live? Aselia will be gone!" Yuan said. "What happened to the Mithos that would do anything to preserve peace?" Mithos faced Yuan; the visage of an innocent boy was gone, replaced with one of terrible sadness and anger.  
  
"That part of me died with my sister," Mithos said. "With infinite knowledge of the past which the Eternal Sword grants me, I know how to save both Aselia and Martel."  
  
"Absolute power is something no mortal can control. Don't you see that you are becoming just like Erebus?" Solstice said.  
  
"Erebus cared only about himself and his own gain. I'll build a world in which half-elves can freely live," Mithos replied. "A world where my sister and I can live together for eternity- a world without war. Isn't that what you desired? If we keep the world from having enough mana to revive magitechnology, war can't happen anymore."  
  
"War isn't the result of technology. It stems from the darkness in people's hearts. Ever since we grasped the notion of taking up arms against out brethren, war has plagued us. I won't let this opportunity pass for a united, peaceful Aselia. I'll stop you with my own hands!" Solstice said. He changed into his dragon form and came down on Mithos. Just by pointing the Eternal Sword at the dragon, Mithos drained Solstice of his power and returned him to his human shape.  
  
"You should be thankful that I don't kill you, since I thought you were my friend. I'll cast you out of Derris-Kharlan trapped as an old man," Mithos said. A blue magic seal appeared under Solstice and he vanished through to the outside. "What about you two?"  
  
"We don't have a choice right now, Kratos," Yuan said.  
  
"I know," said Kratos.  
  
"Sword of eternity, split this world into two!" Mithos commanded. A ring of light went out from Derris-Kharlan into the sky. All over the world, auroras danced in the heavens as intense earthquakes ripped the earth asunder. Mountain chains collapsed and entire islands went beneath the sea. At the ocean floor, rifts tore the continents apart. Giant vortexes appeared that pulled massive chunks of land and sea into an alternate dimension.  
Aselia was no more, changed into two worlds that would be eternally separate. Derris-Kharlan itself lifted off the surface of the planet into a mass of mana that bridged the two worlds. "World of light and world of darkness, Sylvarant and Tethe'alla." Mithos turned to the lotus blossom once again.  
  
"This the end of Aselia. Our actions today have changed the world forever, and we will have to live with those consequences," said Kratos.  
  
"If this seed is exposed to too much mana, it will germinate and become another giant tree. I won't let that happen," Mithos said. He touched Eternal Sword to the seed, releasing the lights that represented all the spirits but Maxwell and Origin. Maxwell's light flew out of Derris-Kharlan where it sealed itself in Exire, the city of dragons. Meanwhile, Origin's light flew into Kratos' body. "I entrust Origin's seal to you so that we will always have the Eternal Sword with us. Both worlds will share the seed's mana for the rest of time."  
  
Far away on a beach in Tethe'alla, Solstice awakened and found that only a few other dragons, all banished to their human forms by Erebus. He got up and his eyes came to rest on Amaterasu, holding her daughter's hand.  
  
"Solstice," Amaterasu said. She let go of Keiko and helped Solstice to his feet. "In that brief moment, our world we strived so hard to protect was torn apart."  
  
"The humans of this world will undoubtedly blame the half-elves for this," another said.  
  
"Then we will take whatever half-elves we can find to Exire," Solstice said.  
  
"Solstice, your time is waning. The age of dragons is coming to an end," Amaterasu said. "I don't have much time myself. Luna has been laid to sleep, so my mana will fade as well."  
  
"For a few more years we shall spend our lives protecting those who are oppressed and then we will fade into history," Solstice replied.  
  
"I am grateful that I will live long enough for Keiko to grow up," Amaterasu responded. Her hair slowly turned white in streaks. "We can only pray dawn will come again." 


	34. Epilogue : Full Circle

Epilogue :: Full Circle  
  
"So what do you plan to do now, Kratos?" Yuan asked. Because they had Derris-Kharlan, Kratos and Yuan could both travel between the worlds at will. Additionally, their Angel Crystals gave them eternal youth, something they did not expect when Kepler presented them with the crystals. Kratos sat with Yuan atop a mountain near the recovering Asgard City in Sylvarant. Noishe was sleeping quietly at Kratos' side, ignorant of the turmoil that disturbed his master's mind.  
  
"I intend to remain with Mithos, doing what I have done for the past years." Kratos answered. "I will stay at his side, guiding him in the right path."  
  
"You realize that he is intent on reviving Martel no matter what," Yuan said.  
  
"Of course. I am surprised you did not side with him in the final battle. Martel was..."  
  
"Martel, Alice, Sirius. All of them sacrificed their lives so everyone, regardless of their blood, could live happily," Yuan said. "Turning on their hopes would be to dishonor their sacrifices."  
  
-----------------------------------------------------  
  
"There he is!" someone in a mob of angry humans shouted in the streets of Meltokio cloaked by the shadows of the night. Fifty years had passed since the two worlds were created. They chased a figure down an alley and cornered him. Pitchforks and blades alike thirsted for his blood.  
  
"This man killed Altair!"  
  
"Death to Dusk, the dishonorable knight!"  
  
Dusk was on a mission for Erebus when Mithos defeated him. He never regretted joining the dark lord's side, but now he was facing a furious mass of people seeking revenge for his past crimes. Dusk's Angel Crystal was bound to the mana of Erebus and thus lost its power when he died. Without his wings, he did not have the strength to slay them. In fact, his hand trembled as he gripped his black sword's handle.  
  
"I guess this is it," Dusk said. "At the very least, I'll die with the honor that I've never been able to have in my life."  
  
He drew the Sword of Tartarus and rushed forward, but suddenly, a flash of light blinded the crowd. A being with long blonde hair and translucent red wings appeared before him. He was dressed in a tight fitting white outfit.  
  
"It's an angel, a messenger from Erebus!?"  
  
The angel held his hand out, freezing the time around them.  
  
"Get up, Lord Dusk," the angel said.  
  
"Who are you?" Dusk asked.  
  
"Yggdrasil, the leader of Cruxis. We are an organization which strives to bring about an age where half-elves can live without oppression from these inferiors," came the reply.   
  
"What do you want of me? I don't have any of the skills that Erebus gave me anymore," Dusk said, shaking with fear.  
  
"Lord Dusk... or should I say Lord Ardentius Remiel, your knack for deception is impressive. If you wish to see a new era for half-elves, join us. I have a special mission for you," Yggdrasil said.  
  
"How... how did you know my name?" Dusk said.  
  
"I can see into the past with my powers," answered Yggdrasil. "Do you accept or shall I punish you here for slaying Alice Enigma?"  
  
"I will join you, but what is it that you wish for me to do that requires my cunning?"  
  
"Excellent," Yggdrasil said placing a new Angel Crystal on Dusk. "From this day forward, you shall be known as Lord Remiel, messenger of the goddess Martel!"  
  
----------------------------------------------------  
  
Nearly four thousand years passed since Mithos slew Erebus and changed the world forever. During that time, he founded Cruxis with the remnants of the Delthis Desian army. In the newly constructed city of Welgaia inside Derris-Kharlan, Mithos, appearing as an older form of himself and taking the new name Yggdrasil, stood before the entire body of Cruxis. He assembled before him nearly ten thousand half-elves, and five prominent leaders: Lady Pronyma, a far off descendant of Erebus himself; Rodyle and Kvar, who both claimed ancestry to the master scientist Cornelius; Magnius, descendant of a Knight of Thor; lastly was Forcystus, Kepler's distant grandson.  
  
"I was never one for long speeches, so I will make this short," Yggdrasil said, speaking from a podium. "This day marks a major step in our quest to bring the age of half-elves upon our realms. I promise you that that time is not far away. With the Five Cardinals at your lead, you will triumph!"  
  
----------------------------------------------------  
  
"Enter."  
  
In a room deep within the old Triet Base of Enigma's Ghosts, Yuan awaited the arrival of someone he had been expecting for a while now. Though officially disbanded since the fall of Delthis, Yuan reclaimed his rightful position at the head of the Ghosts, bringing together former members as Yggdrasil did with the Desians. For the past few hundred years, he had been searching through his ranks for someone to be his second, but nobody seemed to satisfy him. Darius had passed away shortly after the war ended; however, he left a legacy to the Ghosts in the form of a portal between the Arctic Base on Tethe'alla and Fortress Enigma on Sylvarant. Thinking that both bases were either abandoned or destroyed, Yggdrasil completely overlooked their existence.  
  
"Lord Yuan," a black haired half-elf said. Strapped to his back was a giant red cleaver.  
  
"You are Botta, correct? I have heard of your family name before," Yuan said.  
  
"Yes, I am descendant of Lady Alice Enigma's brother, Sigmund," Botta replied. Yuan opened the window in his study to the outside from a switch on his desk.  
  
"Your record is exemplary. I can only say the infiltration of Cardinal Forcystus' construction team was a textbook operation that even Lady Enigma would approve of," Yuan said.  
  
"Thank you, my lord," Botta said. "Hopefully, that facility will not be operational for at least a few years."  
  
Yuan chuckled, flipping through a folder on his desk containing aerial images taken of a fortress in construction. "We were originally formed as a group of spies fighting for a better world. How fate is fond of irony, for we are now up against the one who changed that world. If only Lady Enigma could see what we've become."  
  
"I am sure she would be very proud, Lord Yuan."  
  
Yuan stood up from his chair, walking over to the window and glancing out. "Lord Botta, your first assignment as my second in command will be to bring me information on Cardinal Kvar's revival of Angelus Alpha."  
  
"Second in command, sir?"  
  
"We will continue to work from the shadows. Do not forget that our hope rests in those who see a bright future."  
  
Tales of Symphonia -  
Through Shadow Eyes :: The Tragedy of a Fallen Dawn  
To be continued....


End file.
